


Time And Space Led Me To You

by pastelblue



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Different Time Settings, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, donghyuck wears eyeliner, jaemsung, jaesung, jenle, mark is a precious bean, mark is a science student, markhyuck, yukren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2019-11-08 06:44:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelblue/pseuds/pastelblue
Summary: Mark did not expect to be scared by a boy appearing on his desk at 3am.“W-who are you? And how did you do that, how did you land on my desk like that?”, the boy finally stuttered.“I’m Donghyuck. And who are you?”, he replied, voice calm. The other boy seemed confused at his friendly behavior, his posture relaxed a bit.“I’m Mark. Now, what are you doing here?”, he questioned.“Oh, I’m just on the run, don’t mind me. I’ll be gone in a few minutes.”





	1. Prologue

_ A chronicler has to ensure safety in both presence and past during his tempus officii. _

 

_ The tempus officii begins with the first chronological jump and only ends with the last breath of the chronicler. _

 

**_The chronicler is able to execute two kinds of chronological jumps through time and space._ **

 

 _I_ _I. The_ _chronicler jumps into the past with a timecode of thirty minutes up to several months. The jump happens involuntarily and is permanent, the chronicler does not have to jump back. The timeline's original chronicler will be replaced by the jumped chronicler._

 

_ II. The chronicler jumps into the past or future with an unlimited time code. The jump is temporary as well as voluntary and the stay in the timeline can last up to several months before the chronicler will involuntarily jump back into his own. _

 

_ The chronicler has to plan a chronological jump II. beforehand to ensure blending in seamlessly with the inhabitants of the timeline. _

 

_ The chronicler may experience many involuntary jumps in the beginning of his tempus officii. With more experience these will decrease.  _

 

_ The chronicler jumps to the same place he was locationed at in his original timeline. _

_ A chronological jump is not able to transport the chronicler geographically. _

 

_ The chronicler may experience involuntary backjumps in chronological jump type II. even in a later tempus officii. These are unavoidable and can only be helped with higher concentration during the stay in the timeline. _

 

_ The time in the chronicler’s original timeline will not pass during his stay in another timeline. Therefore, the chronicler will not age while staying in another timeline.  _

 

_ The chronicler is advised to accommodate to the timeline quickly in case of a long-term chronological jump type I. _

_ If the stay in the timeline is short-termed, the chronicler is advised to hide and wait for the backjump. _

 

_ The chronicler has to keep his identity as a chronicler undercover at all times while staying in a timeline other than their own. _

  
  
  



	2. Whatever you fancy, dude

It was dark when Donghyuck opened his eyes. The grey on grey contrast made his vision useless and he tried to make out any shapes that could help him find the light switch while his hands already helplessly felt around. After a few seconds, the light was on and when he could finally see the dark outlines of his dim lit room, sparing his alarm clock a look. March 1st, 1989. A wednesday.

With a loud groan, he let his head fall into the pillows again, not feeling ready for another dreadful day of school especially not now that he had only shortly entered the second semester of his last year of school. It almost felt surreal. Time had passed quickly now that he thought about it, only feeling like a faded yesterday that he met his friends at the first day of fifth grade or bought his first vinyl. _"Everything passes quickly if you enjoy it"_ , the boy thought and Donghyuck enjoyed his life, maybe way too much for his own good sometimes. But to his advantage, the laws of time and space did not apply to him, not since he had jumped the first time in sixth class.

 _He had overslept, another night Donghyuck had spent reading showed its consequences. He tried his best to dress quickly, brush his teeth and comb his hair all at once, but still missing the bus after all. It was the only bus that drove in school direction before noon, may be added._  
_He walked home with his head hanging low._

 _"I can't get more warnings from the teachers, for god's sake.", the boy complained out loud while kicking a stone away angrily._  
_That moment he felt an unfamiliar tingle in his chest, it was the lighter version of what Donghyuck imagined being stabbed felt like - it hurt directly in the middle of his ribcage, the pain leading into his shoulder and down his arm to his wrist - and if he hadn’t watched that hospital documentary with his Mom the night before, he would have been convinced that he suffered from a heart attack right there and then. Chest clutched by his hands, he had bent over to try and make the pain stop in anyway possible._

_But it didn't stop, no matter how hard Donghyuck tried to breathe evenly or adjust his position, the stinging pain remained. It only stopped when his body got shook like by an invisible hand and he felt it sink into something soft. His mattress. His Torso jerked up, eyes searching for the alarm clock in the warm early summer sunlight that shone through his blinds. 6:59 am, one minute before his alarm was supposed to go off. The pain was gone._

He shook the memory off of his tired mind and with a last toss of blankets and pillows, Donghyuck stood on his feet, his soles coming in contact with the unpleasantly cold floor.

"What a shame we don't have the floor heater yet, still six years to go.", he muttered to himself, letting a scene play in the back of his head.

_He was fifteen years old, a cold winter night at the end of november and Donghyuck laid awake again, listening to the quiet sounds that his record player gave out. "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson was the song the vinyl played at that moment. Suddenly he felt the familiar tingle in his chest again, the pain had vanished over the years, and he silently cursed his gift, he was only few minutes away from finally falling asleep._

_"It's worth a try.", he told himself and fumbled for the light switch that he expected to be where it had always been since he was four years old. Eventually, his fingertips found the cheap plastic handle and clicked it. Donghyuck still was in his room, but something looked off. His record player was gone, all his vinyls that were either proudly hung up on the wall or neatly placed on a shelf, also gone, as well as most of his belongings. He turned his head to the old white nightstand, that was now empty except of the lamp ._

_"Seems like I exchanged that old alarm clock for something more reliable when I left.", the boy lowly chuckled to himself and kicked the blanket off his naked feet. A pleasantly surprised sound left his lips the moment his soles touched the floor. It was warm, not the freezing cold wood he was used to. The floor had remained the same though, even a few more scratches noticeable of Donghyuck wasn't mistaken._

_Waddling into the kitchen, he tried to make as little sound as possible with his footsteps in the hallway, what mostly worked since the loose floorboard that used to always torment him, seemed to be fixed. As he passed by the living room door he heard the old familiar raspy breathing of his mother that would always fall asleep on the couch while watching TV late at night._  
_Stepping through the kitchen door, he spared an view inside the fridge. But when he didn’t find anything interesting to munch on, he averted his gaze onto the calendar hanging next to the fridge. September 21st, 1995. A thursday._

_"Six years into the future and nothing changed, except my ass isn't living here anymore. I don't know if i should be happy about it or not, I'll be twenty four after all.", he mumbled. Donghyuck has always had big dreams for himself and he hoped that in 1995, he was doing all it takes for them to become reality._

_He should've gone back to his room and slip into his bed, in case he would jump back because he was sure it would happen any second. Donghyuck usually never stayed long in the future. But he didn’t go back. Staying in the kitchen under the neon light, he wondered further about his future, as ironic it might seem in that situation. And when his vision blurred and his chest tightened, he knew it was too late. Donghyuck jumped without being able to prepare in any way, he stumbled against the table and fell onto a rusty nail that stuck out of the floor ledge. He cried out loud, still laying in the dark kitchen and rolling onto his side, clutching his back where the flesh was bleeding._

Ever since that night, Donghyuck has had a small scar just above the hip.

The sun was barely shining through the blinds yet and the air in his room felt crisp. Donghyuck had forgotten to close the ceiling window the night before. He mentally slapped himself. "No wonder it’s so cold in here.", he thought while reaching for the handle to quickly close the window. His mother would kill him if she knew that he let the coldness come onto the house all night.

“Donghyuck, do you want the heater bill to become even higher? Donghyuck, you’ll make us poor one day!”. He imitated his mother's angry voice. It made him smile, bittersweet. With a sigh, he walked towards the bathroom while grabbing some random clothes that hung over his chair. In that moment, it genuinely did not matter to Donghyuck how he looked for school. At the end of the day, his classmates were used to his extraordinary taste, so even if he happened to look a little weird for once, he could just say he was experimenting with a new style. Once in the bathroom, he quickly hopped into the shower, undressing inside before throwing the discarded pieces of clothing over the shower curtain. Turning the water on, he noticed a bruise on his wrist. It was from yesterday’s jump.

_Donghyuck was at school, the second period had just ended and his friends and him were on the way outside to get a little breath of fresh air before the next class would begin. They were laughing about a joke Jisung had just told while giggling when Donghyuck felt his chest tingle. Without thinking twice, he was dashing to the closest restroom, banging his arm on a wall in the process. He heard Jaemin call after him. “Haechan, are you okay?” That’s what his friends called him - Haechan. “Because you are the sun in our group.”, they said. Once in the restroom, he hurried into a cubicle and locked it. After the usual dizziness he felt while jumping, Donghyuck opened his eyes. It was dark._

_“Don’t tell me, I’m at school during night, this has to be a joke. Man, today seems not to be my day.” He expressed, voice slightly angry but also with an undertone that one could describe as “completely done with the world even though the day just began”._  
_Luckily, he knew the school like the back of his hand so he unlocked the cubicle door , stepped out and blindly proceeded to where he thought must be the light switch or the restroom door - whatever he found first. He made out three different sinks while feeling around in the dark, then a paper dispenser and lastlly the light switch._  
_Everything looked older, more used. The cubicles weren’t the ugly green that Donghyuck felt insulted by every time he saw them anymore, they were a less atrocious light blue. The sinks had a different shape and one of the mirrors above was split up, a glass spider web on the wall instead of Donghyuck’s reflection when he looked into it._

_Having seen enough, the boy strolled to the restroom door, turning off the light on his way out. He quietly tiptoed through the corridors that were dimly illuminated by the pale moonlight, Donghyuck didn't want to risk attracting anybody's attention as he still didn't know what year he was staying in at the moment nor if there were any security guards making their rounds through school at night. From what he had seen until now, he was sure that he jumped into the past, at least about fifteen years back. Donghyuck finally reached the secretary’s office where he looked for anything that could reveal the date. On the desk was an opened notebook with a pen laying on top. Roaming around the desk and pulling the office chair off, he read the date written in the upper right corner above a list of parent’s the secretary had to contact. August 17th, 1967. A thursday._

_“Mom must’ve been here at school these years, if I’m not wrong. Let’s see.”, he whispered and pulled out the upper drawer, looking for a students list. He didn’t get too far though, he already felt the tingle in his chest again, indicating he would jump back very soon. Donghyuck ran back in the direction of the restroom, hitting his wrist against the same wall from before. He threw the door close and was already back in the present when he looked around the next second. The same ugly green cubicles. The boy cursed loudly while holding his hand. Behind him, the door was opened._

_“Hyung, are you okay? Why did you run away all of a sudden?”_  
_Once he turned to the source of the voice, Donghyuck saw it was Jisung, and Jaemin was just behind him ._

_“I just felt sick, but I’m okay now. It was only for a few seconds anyways.”, he lied._

_“Then why are you clutching your hand like that, Haechanie?”, Jaemin questioned this time._

_“I hit it against the wall running here.”_

_“Don’t lie to us. You jumped again, didn’t you? This is getting dangerous, what if it happens somewhere you can’t hide or run away?”, Jaemin complained, worried._  
_“It won’t, Jaemin. I usually don’t jump that often without meaning to. I just have to figure out a way to control it.”, Donghyuck stated._

He reflected on the last few jumps while washing his hair. The distance between them decreased with each, he has jumped almost everyday for two weeks already, the year difference increasing with each jump. Last week he had suddenly found himself in 1933. To his feet, the water was now a faded orange from the henna he had dyed his hair with. _"I really need to figure out something, I can’t continue living like this.”_ , the boy realized once again. It would get harder and harder to even leave the house if he had to be scared of being catapulted into another decade every second. After turning the water temperature higher one last time, Donghyuck exited the shower, only to be met with the cold air of the bathroom. He hissed and grabbed the towel to his left as quickly as possible, wrapping it around him while stomping his feet. If there was one thing Donghyuck completely despised, it had to be coldness - or bad music, whatever bothered him more that day. Drying himself off, he hummed a song he had heard on the radio a few days ago that he could not remember the name of, no matter how hard he tried. That was also something that really bothered him. The boy dressed quickly and rubbed the condensed water off the mirror with the back of his hand after. Looking into it, he saw that his hair was already half dried, an orange curly mess of the top of his head. He had permed his hair five weeks ago at a barber owned by his Mom’s old school friend. The catch was that his Mom did not know about it, so when Donghyuck came home after, he earned himself an argument with his mother, who later that day complimented him on it after calming down.

Donghyuck examined the clothes he randomly had picked earlier - baggy acid-washed jeans, a neon green polo shirt and an oversized acid-washed denim jacket. _“Could be worse, and I’m definitely too lazy to get something else right now. And it’s somewhat matching with the pants and the jacket.”_ He put the clothes on and took another look into the mirror. His hair was completely dry now, making him look like an actual poodle. His friends often joked how it seemed like the boy had a bird nest in his hair. He grabbed an eyeliner from one of the drawers underneath the sink and drew black kohl liner into his waterline, something he had adapted from his brother Taeyong when said boy had lived through his punk phase not too long ago. Donghyuck liked how it accentuated his eyes.

Heading back into his room, he snatched a pair of freshly washed socks from the laundry basket on the way and tried to put them on while walking, which failed miserably and Donghyuck ended up hitting his head on the door frame. “Oh, not again. I’m just too clumsy, fuck.”, he cursed, rubbing his head and already spying around the room for a belt. At that point, there must have been at least ten bruises on his body. He found a black belt in his pile of clothes next to the chair that already carried half a wardrobe worth of messily thrown clothes. He really should tidy up.  
During the process of fiddling the belt through the loops of his jeans and tucking his shirt in, Donghyuck contemplated if it was worth skipping school. After only five seconds he knew it wasn’t. His class was soon going to be faced with multiple exams and god knows, Donghyuck needed every lesson he could get to try and understand the material before said exams. After putting on his shoes and filling his backpack with books for the day, the boy was ready to go and was even on time for the bus. At least that’s what he thought, before he felt an all too familiar feeling creeping up behind his rib cage. Suddenly being dizzy, he stumbled backwards to his desk and sat on top, he didn’t want to risk falling. He felt his body shaking and when he opened his eyes, he was met with the shocked face of a boy.

The boy sprung up from his chair and let out a strangled scream before quickly closing his hand over his mouth. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, the dark orbs darting from left to right while being opened wide.  
Donghyuck was perplexed as well, he had always been able to avoid jumping while somebody else was present. He brought his hand up to his head, the spot he had bumped against the door frame suddenly hurting again. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the other boy flinch from the motion. Donghyuck averted his view to the boy again. He didn’t look much older than him and was dressed in a big sweatshirt and sweatpants, circle glasses low on the bridge of his nose. His hair was messy and he had a pencil behind his left ear.

“W-who are you? And how did you do that, how did you land on my desk like that?”, the boy finally stuttered.

“I’m Donghyuck. And who are you?”, he replied, voice calm. The other boy seemed confused at his friendly behavior, his posture relaxed a bit.

“I’m Mark. Now, what are you doing here?”, he questioned.

“Oh, I’m just on the run, don’t mind me. I’ll be gone in a few minutes.”

Mark’s expression shifted from shocked, confused to “brain stopped working” and he eyed Donghyuck up and down several times. Mark had been preparing for the next physics exam before the boy had butted into the moment and landed on his desk, literally appearing out of thin air. _"Overworked and tired, that’s what you are, Mark."_ , he tried to convince himself.

“You know what, I’ll just get ready for bed right now. You’ll be gone when I come back, I know it. This is just my subconscious telling me to finally take a break.”, Mark declared.

“Whatever you fancy, dude.”, Donghyuck responded bored.  
“Yeah, I’ll be going then.”, he stated, still keeping his gaze fixed on the intruder. The latter only waved, kind of amused. Mark slowly backed away, opened the door and disappeared into the bathroom. Donghyuck slid off the desk and sat on the chair the other boy had pushed away accidently. Leaning back, he looked around his room, if he could even still call it his own room. The spot of the bed was the same as his own and obviously the desk as well. The walls were hidden underneath posters of documentaries about space and astronomy, shelves filled with science awards and books about, what else could it be, science as well.

Donghyuck scoffed. “That’s the kind of guy who lives in my room right now, huh? A nerd, jesus christ. Dear universe, I’m sure there were better options.” At least, said nerd seemed to be more organized than himself, there were no clothes on the floor. Hell, most of the times Donghyuck couldn’t even see the floor. He sighed and waited for the feeling in his chest to come back. Nothing happened, his time travel gene or whatever it was that caused all of this, seemed to be content to let Donghyuck suffer a little more before school. The boy looked around for anything that could tell him what year he found himself in. No alarm clock on the nightstand. No watch laying around on the desk either, only a flat thing that showed a few numbers on the screen. Donghyuck scooched closer with the chair to observe it futher. March 21st, 2019. A Friday. Donghyuck had jumped exactly thirty years into the future.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Mark stared at his reflection in the mirror, looking for any signs of nearing insanity or already developed schizophrenia. He rubbed his eyes a few times and took a deep breath. He even slapped his cheek, for good measurements and in case the boy in his room was the result of tiredness. He scanned his face in the mirror again.

“You’re overworked, Minhyung, that is what you are. You are overworked and you shouldn’t be working at three a.m. Oh God, I’m already calling myself Minhyung, it’s that serious.”, he spoke to himself. His mother was right, science students either drop out, apply for another course of studies or go insane. To Mark, it seemed like the latter was happening right then and there. After several more minutes of contemplating his life choices and observing his frowning face, Mark just decided to shower, brush his teeth and then get back to his room to manage to at least sleep for a few hours. He really needed it. Before reentering his room, he spoke a silent prayer that his hallucination in form of a way too brightly dressed boy, would be gone. He closed his eyes, stepped through the door, took a deep breath, opened them.

On his bed sat a boy in a denim jacket and hair that was colored a not uniform orange, some strands already washed out to a light strawberry blond or a peachy shade. _“Why would my subconscious make up a boy like that?”_ Mark really doubted his brain at the moment. Hearing a noise, Donghyuck turned around and fixed his eyes on the boy with the wet hair and the glasses. He had changed into a big white t-shirt, yet was still wearing the same sweatpants as before. Donghyuck smiled at him, he was sorry that he had scared him so much.

Mark on the other hand did not smile at all, more like the opposite. In the dim lit room, the smile of the other boy seemed creepy to him. He really had hoped he would be gone the moment he arrived back from the bathrooom. Maybe he just had to sleep and his hallucination would be gone. Yeah, that made sense, considering it was the result of Mark being an overworked mess. He should tell Yukhei to keep an eye on him and possibly even manhandle him into bed. Again, he needed the sleep. God, he really did, the bags under his eyes were darker than it should be allowed and he had to yawn between every sentence in the morning while sitting in his lectures at this point.

“Why are you still here?”, Mark whined in a high-pitched voice, he was no longer much scared, but surely slowly getting annoyed.

“I don’t know, I told you that I would be gone soon, and I really thought that I would be gone by now. But it didn’t happen yet as you can see. I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can do right now.”, Donghyuck tried to sound as nice as possible, he pitied Mark.

“I’ll go to sleep now, but before…”, the older slowly walked up to Hyuck and hesitantly poked his arm. He shrieked and jumped backwards. ”How is it possible that I can touch you? You are a product of my imagination, what the fuck?”, he put his shock into words. Mark was scared again.

“Who said I was a product of your imagination? Do you think you could imagine someone like me? I doubt it, I’m too pretty for your boring science-focused brain.”, Donghyuck sassed back, he felt insulted. Mark sent him an glare that the other boy just found way too hilarious, he broke out in laughter. Holding his stomach, he bent over cackling.

“Man, you're so rude. You do know that you completely interrupted my study session, you make me think I’m crazy and now you have the audacity to laugh at me?”, Mark voiced out, he was done for today.

“Yeah, but like-... you should have seen… your face!”, Donghyuck managed to press out between laughs.

“By the way, if you’re not coming from my imagination, then what are you? And most certainly, how did you get here? And why?”, Mark questioned again.

Donghyuck had managed to suppress his laughing at that point and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. _“Oh shit, my eyeliner”_ , he thought to himself, even though that was completely irrelevant in that moment.

“I don’t know why I’m here myself. I just happened to jump somewhere, you could also say sometime, and it happened to be this day. I’m sorry that I interrupted you. But there’s nothing I can do right now, dude. I’m suffering just as much as you.”

“Yeah, I highly doubt that.”, Mark muttered and approached Donghyuck again, sitting next to him on the bed hesitantly..

“I really genuinely am! After I’ll be gone, I’m gonna have to walk to the bus station and live through a whole day of school, okay? You can sleep now. Lucky, really…”, the younger exclaimed.

“What do you mean you have to go to school?”, Mark’s shortly relaxed expression turned back into his confused frown. “So you are human?”

“Of course, dude. What else should I be? An alien? Actually that would be funny, now that I think of it.”, Donghyuck giggled softly. Mark was so puzzled by the whole situation, but it was understandable, what was one supposed to think when a complete stranger appeared in their room at night?

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now. I can touch you, so you must be actually here. Wait, what if I’m dreaming?”, he asked himself and pinched his forearm rather hard. “Ouch!”, Mark cried out and Donghyuck couldn’t help but cackle again, even though he knew how mean it was.

“Mark, I can assure you that you would not believe me even if I told you who I am, or where I come from or even what I am. So I won’t tell you.”, the boy spoke while patting the older’s shoulder, who flinched at it.

“If you are still here tomorrow when I wake up, promise me, you’ll tell me then?”, Mark asked softly, he was too tired to be scared of the boy who he thought wasn't real anyways and failed to sound intimadating. It had been his plan, just in case Donghyuck was there to kill him whatever.

“Alright, I will. I promise.”, Donghyuck announced, smiling once again. He was sure he would be gone by the time Mark would wake up the next day. Mark smiled back, or more pressed his lips togther what made the corners curve up just a little. His eyes a little droopy behind the glasses.

“Then I’ll sleep for real now. And you, um, I can leave the light on for you and you can read maybe? I have a lot of books and comics on the shelfs over there.”, the older suggested while already taking off his glasses and setting them onto the nightstand.

“I’ll do that then. Thank you, Mark.”, Donghyuck responded standing up and walking back over to the chair by the desk, pulling out a random book from the shelf on the way there. Mark was already pulling the covers over him, mumbling a little “no thing, bro”. The other boy sat down and took a last look over to Mark, noticing how he even pulled the covers over his head, probably to shield his eyes from the light. Donghyuck chuckled, finally taking a look at the book he chose. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. He was sure that his class had read this for school at some point, but he couldn’t recall what it was about. So he just started reading. After only a few pages, Donghyuck heard soft snores coming from the bed. _“Mark must’ve been really exhausted.”_ , he thought.

Time passed, Donghyuck had read half of the book when he glimpsed at the rectangular thing on the desk. It had shown 3:34 am when Mark went to bed, now the numbers indicated that it was 5:49 am. Donghyuck was getting a little tired as well, he didn’t really sleep that much back in 1989 before he jumped. His back hurt from sitting so long, and his butt as well if he was being honest. Mark’s bed was big enough, so could he just lay down there? As far away from the other boy as possible? But Donghyuck didn’t want to scare him again, especially not when he would wake up. So he threw the idea over and just kept on reading. But when his butt began to hurt even more, he said “fuck that” quietly and put the book away, laying it opened and turned over onto the desk. Tiptoeing over as quietly as possible, Donghyuck got rid of his denim jacket and stepped out of his shoes, loosened his belt. Now he only had to get onto the bed without waking Mark up. The boy sat on the opposite side than the older was sleeping on and cautiously raised one leg the mattress, then , his eyes never leaving the sleeping Mark to ensure he stayed asleep. When he showed no reaction whatsoever, Donghyuck carefully sank his upper body onto the bed as well. The other boy shifted slightly and Donghyuck already cursed inside his mind, but thankfully Mark did not wake up. So the younger tried to get comfortable, closed his eyes and soon fell asleep as well..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is the first story i've written in a while, so i hope ist okay. Please give me some feedback in the comments. I hope you enjoyed reading it. My Twitter is @pastelbluenana.
> 
> and here's my cc https://curiouscat.me/pastelbluenana


	3. In my career as an asshole

Donghyuck was painfully woken up by a horrible scream, the type you hear in horror movies that made you want to hide under a blanket. He shot up from the mattress and was met with Mark’s shocked face only half a meter away from his own.

“You know what this is, Mark? Ear rape, Mark! _Ear rape, for fuck’s sake!_ ” Donghyuck screamed back.

“What the hell? Why are you in my bed? Can you even imagine how much you scared me? I was hoping that you’d be gone by now. What despicable milestones did I achieve in my career as an asshole in my last life to deserve this suffering?” Mark wailed out. He had his glasses on again, they sat higher on the bridge of his nose this time though.

“Calm down, your chair became uncomfortable after a while. And with all respect, dude, you’re the type of guy who can’t even hurt a fly. There’s no chance in the universe, you have despicable things on your clean slate.” Donghyuck slowly rose from the mattress and tried to comb his messy hair with his hands. He felt a little cold from not sleeping with a blanket for hours.

“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what I’m capable of.” Mark tried to defend himself, his voice failing to sound intimidating. “And by the way, you just could’ve gone into the living room and slept on the couch.”

Donghyuck wanted to kick his own ass. This was his apartment, he knew where the living room was. For God’s sake! He could’ve saved himself all the screaming first thing in the morning.  
“Maybe I don’t know you, Mark, but someone capable of whatever wouldn’t let a stranger stay in his room and read his books while he sleeps. Think about it.”, the boy barked back. That seemed to shut Mark up.

“Listen, now that you’re still here, at least tell me who you are and what you’re doing here. You promised.” Mark spoke a little softer, he sounded defeated. His shoulders slumped over and he sat back on the bed, still tired. The older must have pulled up the blinds before getting scared by Donghyuck, the early spring sun shone through his honey blond hair and the other boy noticed how the ends curled a little bit. Right when Donghyuck wanted to start explaining why it still seemed like a bad idea to reveal his identity, a sudden noise interrupted him. It sounded like a dying whale. Mark cupped his cheeks in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning. Would you mind telling me while I eat breakfast? You can have some too if you want.”, he suggested, in the back of his mind questioning if it was a smart decision to make the intruder breakfast. But since he was still alive after sleeping in the same room, it seemed like the boy wouldn't harm him. And Donghyuck didn’t mind at all, he himself hadn’t eaten since yesterday, if you could even say _yesterday._

“Um, yeah, sure.”, he responded already standing up and making his way to the kitchen before Mark could even react. Walking through the hallways, Donghyuck noticed that there hadn’t been made any major changes in thirty years. A similar light blue wallpaper with the same dark wooden floor. It gave him some feel of comfort that so much had remained the same. Standing in the kitchen, he sadly had to discover that more had changed than in the hallways. All his fridge magnets holding drawings and photos of him and his mom were gone. “Of course they are not here anymore, Hyuck, what did you expect?” the boy scolded himself in his head. Observing the younger, Mark stepped through the door behind him with a confused expression.

“How did you know where the kitchen was? That’s-” Mark questioned quickly, but Donghyuck interrupted his attempt to rant anew.

“I’ll explain it with the rest, don’t worry.” the boy shot back. Maybe he was being rude, but he just woke up and was pissed at his gift, to be honest. Jumps never really lasted for that long and Donghyuck had a bad feeling about it in the pit of his stomach. Was there something wrong with him?  
Meanwhile, Mark was already rummaging through the cupboards in search of something edible. He only found some leftover rice from yesterday, some raw vegetables, half a bag of frosted flakes and a bottle of milk.

“Donghyuck, I can either offer you cornflakes or fried rice. Only problem is, I can’t cook for my life so you would have to make the rice.” Mark announced while taking out the bowl of rice from the fridge and unwrapping the vegetables from the plastic.

“Oh, sure. I can make the rice, I don’t mind. I cook a lot for myself when Mom’s not home. I’m good at it too, so prepare for a good ass breakfast, Mark.” Donghyuck exclaimed while already turning around to take a pan out from the cupboard next to the stove. Everything was sorted the way it was in 1989. Mark was done throwing the plastic wrap away and only watched Donghyuck in awe as the latter seemed to own the kitchen, twirling around with a spatula in one hand, a pair of chopsticks in the other, oil already heating up in the pan. Mark wasn’t even questioning it anymore, he would find out very soon if the other boy was one to keep his promises. He only made his way to the adjacent living room, turned on the TV and watched the news. It was already 11:42 am, he had gotten at least seven and a half hours of sleep, that should be enough to keep working on his exams and projects till three in the morning again. It was exhausting, yes, but the boy really loved studying physics and its complex theories. Mark heard Donghyuck hum over the noise of the TV. He pressed the mute button on the remote. From what Mark could tell, the boy was softly singing an old song, maybe 1980’s if Mark was right. The kind of song his dad would listen to on his old vinyls on a saturday afternoon. It was a slow song, and it fit Donghyuck's voice nicely. The boy had a delicate voice, now that Mark thought about it. The noises from the kitchen stopped and soon, Donghyuck was stepping through the door into the living room, a bowl of fried rice with a pair of chopsticks in each hand. Reaching over, he mentioned for the older to grab his food so he could sit down himself. Getting a hold of the smooth white bowl, Mark asked: “What song was that?”

Donghyuck was surprised, he didn’t expect Mark to hear him serenading the damn rice, let alone actually pay attention to it. He didn’t have the time to be embarrassed though, the older looked at him with big, curious eyes behind his round glasses.

“It was _Killer Queen_ by Queen. Do you know it?”, he responded.  
“No, I don’t, sorry. It sounded great, though.” Mark was already munching on his rice. It tasted really amazing, even for such a simple dish, Donghyuck wasn’t lying when he said he was a good cook. Said boy looked at Mark wide-eyed, not having even touched the food yet.

“You don’t know it? Dude, you’re missing out on so much. I can show you-”, he had almost started rambling but he pulled the break on himself. _“You won’t be here or that long”_ , he reminded himself, _“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”_

Mark seemed like a genuinely good boy and Donghyuck had already caused him enough inconveniences with his unexpected long stay here. Now he was even eating his food, when the older himself had mentioned that it was his first meal in a whole day, the younger couldn’t help but feel awful. “Damn this gift, no matter how practical and fun it can be sometimes...” were the thoughts running through the younger’s mind.

“By the way, Mark, you need to eat regularly, not only once a day. That’s not good for you.” Donghyuck finally dug into the rice as well.

“I know, my friends are constantly at my throat as well because I don’t really take care of myself. But my studies are really time consuming, you know? I don’t know if you’ve taken a look on the papers that were on my desk, but it’s pretty heavy stuff. And I’m also working on my own theory along the other projects, so I mostly choose that over eating. I often simply forget it as well.” Mark explained, the bowl now half empty on his lap.

Before Donghyuck could even start complaining that Mark’s friends should just get him out of his room to eat or anything if necessary, the older already spoke up again.  
“Now, please tell me what you’re doing here. You promised and I even gave you food, so you’re basically in my debt.”  
Donghyuck sighed exaggeratedly. “I don’t have any other option now, do I? But dude, I can assure you that you won’t believe me. But here we go.” He placed the bowl between his legs as well, suddenly not even hungry anymore. Mark seemed all ears, eyes fixed on the boy beside him.

“I landed on your desk because I jumped. Jumped into another year, I mean... I’m somewhat like a time traveler you could say? And when-”, he started hesitantly, not coming far though.

“Donghyuck, this is ridiculous. I totally understand that it might be uncomfortable to tell me, for whatever reason, but please don’t tell some made up stories.” Mark looked disappointed, having expected something that could actually explain the boy appearing at night.

“I am telling the truth! How else do you explain me butting into your room out of thin air? Wait, I have proof, hold on a second.” Donghyuck sprung up, almost knocking the remaining rice over in the process, dashing back to his (Mark’s) room, where he had left his denim jacket. The older had hung it over the back of his chair and Donghyuck grabbed it and pulled out his wallet from one of the big pockets. He quickly made his way back.

“Here look, whenever I planned a jump, I brought my polaroid camera with me to take a picture, as a souvenir you could say. It’s dangerous and I have to be careful, but I never got caught.”, he stated, a certain excitement in his voice. Opening his wallet, he drew a few photos out of it. The shiny surface was free of scratches, even though some of them had wrinkled edges.

Mark still seemed to have doubts when Donghyuck held the small squares of paper to his face, but he still shifted closer to have a better look at them. From what he could observe, they all showed Donghyuck in clothing different of eras. There was the Donghyuck, an unfinished version of the Eiffel Tower in the background, dressed in a white dress shirt with a black vest and the matching pants. His hair had been black back then. Another polaroid portrayed Donghyuck with flares and a sleeveless top sitting in front of a tent, a small pair of glasses of the tip of his nose.

“This one was when me and my mom went to Paris during winter break a few weeks ago, and oh, this one when I went to Washington with my class last year. I always make sure to jump into the past when I’m somewhere else. I was at a peace demonstration there, I think about 1974. Paris was 1888. The problem of course is, that I always have to put my camera somewhere and then press the self release button, or I would have to find another time traveler, but I’ve never met one. Isn’t that all so cool? My friend, Jaemin, wants to become a fashion designer one day, so when I tell him which year I’m gonna jump to, he always sews some clothes for me.” Donghyuck smiled widely while telling about it. Mark, on the other hand, was speechless.

After some time, he finally breathed out: “That’s not possible, Donghyuck. You used photoshop for that, right?”

“What’s photoshop?”, the younger asked, puzzled.

“It’s…, yeah, nevermind. Is it even possible to edit polaroids?” Mark spoke, more to himself than to the boy next to him. Donghyuck couldn’t follow anymore when the older philosophized over the different opportunities green screen and photoshop gave you, whatever that may be, so he just looked back onto his pictures again. There were so many good memories he connected with them. Donghyuck was thankful for his gift, he really was. It might be a major inconvenience most of the times, but thinking about the many amazing experiences he had already had jumping into another year, decade or even century, he simply couldn’t hate it. You always have to put up with the consequences if you want to enjoy something. “Life is not only the sunny side of it, Hyuck” his Mom would always say. And she was right, of course. Living with side effects was easier than living a life that didn’t even seem worth living at all. A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts.

 

_p.o.v. jaemin and jisung_

 

“Nana, do you think we should go to his apartment and look for him? He never misses school without calling us in the morning, even when he skips.” Jisung voiced out. His head was in Jaemin’s lap, the boys had headed to Jisung’s home after school.

The older brushed a strand out of his boyfriend’s eyes. He himself was concerned.  
“I don’t know, Sungie. Maybe he was just sick or something and forgot to call. His Mom was probably at work so she didn’t call either.”, he responded, but didn’t believe the stated himself.

“What if he jumped? Then he would come back very soon, right?” Jisung suggested, voice a little more hopeful as his head rose from Jaemin’s lap and he sat beside him.

“Time never passes here during his jumps, that’s how he manages to disappear while we’re on class trips. Or remember yesterday? He ran into the restroom and jumped, came back and only then we entered. He has already been in the past or future for who knows how long.” Jaemin reminded the younger.

“I’m just so worried. Maybe something happened and he’s hurt. And what are we doing? Cuddling.” Jisung huffed, but still grabbed Jaemin’s hand and readjusted its position on his back, from where the older had dropped.

“You know, I’m not obligated to give you affection, Sungie.” Jaemin whined, teasing Jisung with his behaviour, before adding with a more serious voice: “But I’m worried too. Let’s just see if Haechanie comes to school tomorrow, maybe he’ll just be back and make weird vomiting noises again when we hold hands, just like always.”

Jisung chuckled lowly and nodded.  
“I want him to finally get a boyfriend himself, so that we can annoy him too. He’s so clingy, I don’t want to know how he acts once he’s in a relationship.” That made Jaemin smile as well, raising his hand to pull the younger’s head onto his shoulder when they heard a loud noise from the hallway. Jisung’s mom. The boys instantly broke apart, not wanting to risk the woman seeing anything that she was not supposed to. Their parents would never accept their relationship.

“Nana, we should go to yours more often, your parents are barely home.”, Jisung broke the silence that had occured after the noise interruption. “You know what they would do if they knew that their sons are gay.” Jaemin sighed, hearing about it again made him sad. In school, they had to be careful as well. No one could know. Looking at Jisung, he noticed the younger’s sorrowful expression. It made his heart sink, so he quickly raised Jisung’s chin with his index finger and pressed a kiss to his lips. Smiling, Jaemin rested his forehead against his boyfriend’s.

“Nana, I told you to warn me before you kiss me. So I can prepare, remember?” Jisung whined while breaking apart from Jaemin. The latter noticed a light blush on Jisung’s cheeks. _“After all this time he still gets flustered.”_ Jaemin thought, a dazed grin on his face.

 

_p.o.v. donghyuck and mark_

 

“Donghyuck?” Mark called him, hand still on his shoulder. He had turned off the TV and the room was completely quiet. “Donghyuck, I don’t know if I can believe you.”, the older broke the silence.

“It seems pretty crazy, I know.”, the other boy answered, his voice soft. It was the same with Jaemin and Jisung when he had tried to explain to them why he ran away so often when they hung out or were in school. And he didn’t even have his polaroids back then, literally having to demonstrate his powers by jumping in front of their eyes. But he couldn’t do that know, he could only jump from his own year.

“Yeah, I would say so too. But-” Mark answered, getting interrupted by Donghyuck.  
“How do you explain someone appearing in your room at night, literally just appearing in front your eyes, huh? Think about it. You study so you must be smart.”

The younger could almost hear Mark’s brain working. When almost two minutes passed without an answer from him, Donghyuck spoke up.  
“Mark, what do you study again?”

“I study modern physics, but why does that-” Mark muttered. The younger butting into his speech anew. The other was clearly getting annoyed, huffing next to Donghyuck.

“Exactly, you study modern physics. And what does the theory about wormholes stabilized by negative energy say, Mark?”, the boy questioned.

“Why are you asking that?” Mark answered, a deep frown decorating his forehead. “Just answer my question, Mark.” Donghyuck urged .

“The theory says that if a traversable wormhole could be stabilized by enough negative energy, it would be possible to time travel through that wormhole. Wait, is that how you got here?”, the older said, his eyes suddenly wide.

“I have to disappoint you, but that’s not how I got here. But again, think about it, Mark. If time travel would hypothetically be possible through a wormhole, then why not in another way?” Donghyuck alleged. He was sure that he finally had convinced Mark. More or less.

“Now that you say it, it kind of makes sense. But what other way? And how do you even know about that theory?”, Mark replied hesitantly.

“I wish! If I knew how it works, I wouldn’t have to suffer so much, but I don’t have a clue myself. And about the theory, I once jumped while I was in our school library. Happened to be several years in the future and in addition at nighttime. So since I had nothing better to do, I just grabbed the nearest book and started reading for about an hour. Then some kid came in to study, so I had to hide. Can you imagine that? Studying in school at night, who would even do that?” Donghyuck ranted. Mark next to him only chuckled nervously. “I always did that, studying in the library at ungodly hours.” he called to his mind.

“What year do you even come from?” Mark asked. Even though he still didn’t completely believe the younger, it was interesting to hear him talk about his “time travels” after all.

“Well, what do you think, Mark?” Donghyuck smirked and raised his eyebrows. In his opinion, it wasn’t that hard to guess the late 80’s.

“Um, maybe like 1975?”, the other boy slowly guessed. Donghyuck scoffed, an unbelieving expression on his face.

“Dude, I feel insulted. I just showed you a polaroid from 1974. Are you trying to tell me I look like that?”, he whined, his lips in a pout. The boy scooched further away from the older and sulked. “1975, what a joke.”, he mumbled.

“No, you don’t. I just really don’t know much about the last few decades, I’m sorry.” Mark tried to apologize. Donghyuck turned to him and smiled.

“I can tell you so many great things about the last few decades. I mean, sure, there was the vietnam war and the cold war and other shitty stuff, but apart from that.”, he announced cheerfully.

 _“Man, that’s what I call mood swings.”_ Mark thought to himself. At least, it wouldn’t be boring as long as the boy stayed with him.

“Anyways, I’m from 1989, Mark. So, anything else you want to know?”

“Yeah, actually. When are you gonna go back? And why did you even come here?”, the boy started, he had so many questions on his mind.

“That’s the catch. I don’t know when I’m gonna go back. It can basically happen any second. Now that I think about it, I should probably get my stuff. Secondly, I didn’t decide to come here. You see, Mark, there are two options when I jump. I either jump involuntary without getting to decide in which year I land or how long I stay there. But I’ve never stayed longer than ten hours in that case. Or, when I want to jump just for fun, I get to decide the year and how long I stay there.”, Donghyuck explained, waving around with his hands trying to demonstrate the different processes of jumping.

Mark understood, his eyes darting around to follow the younger’s excessive hand motions though. To a science student like him, it almost seemed too good to be true. He had the proof that time travel, in whatever way, was possible in front of him, yet different than what Mark had always imagined from reading science-fiction books as a thirteen-year-old. In his head, time travelers had manifested in the shape of old professors with tousled white hair in tweed suits and not, well, as a semi-dramatic teenager with orange air and clothes that were borderline fluorescent and could potentially hurt your eyes if you looked at them for too long. But could he even call it proof, when he still was not sure if the boy was an illusion? He should call Yukhei, ask him to come over and check if he was able to see Donghyuck as well. 

“Hey, Mark?”, the younger called out, noticing that the other boy gave the impression of being distracted. He showed no reaction.  
“Mark, dude!”, he started clapping next to Mark’s ear which finally made him turn his head to focus on Donghyuck.

“Yeah? Sorry, I was in thoughts. It’s just a lot to take in, you know?”

“I understand. Could you follow me though? I can explain again, if you want.” Donghyuck offered, smiling slightly.

“No, it’s all good. Didn’t you say that you should grab your stuff in case you go back? We should get your stuff then.” Mark mentioned and already stood up, walking back to his room. Donghyuck accompanying him. The latter stood in the doorframe while Mark searched for something under his bed. He raised his head back up and waved a black backpack through the air.

“Here, you can put your jacket and shoes in here and just take it around the apartment with you. Or if you ever want to go outside.”, he announced.

“Oh, thank you. But don’t you need it anymore? You won’t get it back once I jump back with it.” Donghyuck remarked.

“I don’t need it anymore.”, the older answered.

“You sure?”

“Pretty sure. Just take it.” Mark convinced Donghyuck, already walking over to the chair to fold the denim jacket and stuff it into the backpack. Afterwards, he put the shoes on top and closed the zipper. The older strode over to Donghyuck and handed him the bag, which the latter instantly put over his shoulders. It made his frame look even smaller. The eyeliner had worn off over night, so Donghyuck appeared younger, more innocent, the clothes almost too big for him as well.

“He Looks like a child.” Mark caught himself mumbling. The younger didn’t hear it, he was busy rambling about how much he loved Nike, the backpack’s brand, and averted his gaze to Mark to tell him that in 1989 he was the proud owner of a limited edition pair of Nike sneaker.

“It was so hard to get them. I waited since four in the morning in front of the store, with Jisung. He was still fifteen when we bought them and way scrawnier, so he caught a cold the day after. Was definitely worth it, though.” Donghyuck told full of past excitement.

Mark sat down on the bed and mentioned for Donghyuck to do so as well.  
“Tell me some more about yourself, Donghyuck.” Mark found the other boy interesting, his bright personality lightened up the mood. Sitting down as well, the younger asked: “Well, what do you want to know? Anything specific?”

“No, just start talking about whatever. You seem to be good at that.” Mark responded, chuckling.

“Was that a disguised insult?”, the younger asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Just an observation. I might have struck a nerve, though, if you feel insulted by it.”

“I’ll only open myself up to the weird person that you are, Mark, if you tell me something about yourself as well. Deal?” Donghyuck returned.

“Alright, I’ll pour out my heart, dude.”, the older assured, grinning. Donghyuck had to laugh, he was happy that he had landed on Mark’s desk after all. There were worse options, let’s say a perverted grandma.

“Okay, let me think. My full name is Lee Donghyuck, but my friends call me Haechan. I’m eighteen years old, so I still go to school of course. What else could I tell you?”, Donghyuck playfully scratched his chin, pretending to think. “Oh, found something. As you can see, I’m very handsome and the model industry should hire me for better income.” He laughed at Mark’s annoyed face, meanwhile the older slightly slapped Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“Don’t do that shit. I seriously want to know more about you. You jumped onto my desk, you owe me something.”, Mark declared. He let his body fall back into the pillows, a ray of sunlight from the ceiling window shone right into his eyes, making him squint.

_Meanwhile, somewhere in the deepest corner of the universe, a melodious voice could be heard._

_“Another pair of soon-to-be lovesick fools. Finally, a new source of entertainment in these boring days. Their tears will surely bring me joy.” The clock began to run._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the second chapter. Please leave me some Feedback. My Curious Cat and Twitter are both @pastelbluenana


	4. Some would go as far to call me precious

"I'm afraid you might overestimate my charms. I'm not an interesting person, you will be disappointed when you get to know more about me. Trust me.” Donghyuck told Mark. Sinking his body onto the mattress as well, he immediately turned his head to the older. The latter had his eyes closed, light casting bright patterns onto his face.

****

“I only shortly made your acquaintance, Donghyuck, to be exact…” Mark broke off and glanced onto his watch “eight hours and twenty one minutes ago, but I already learned that you are, in fact, a very captivating little boy.”

****

“Call me little boy one more time, I swear, and you will witness the consequences. Because I am, in fact, a fighting machine.” Donghyuck playfully got back at the older, accentuating the last sentence through speaking in a higher voice, making it sound a little arrogant and dramatic. He had a satisfied grin on his face as he averted his gaze to Mark, only to see his amused expression. “And just so you know it, we are the same height, Mark. You might be broader, I give you that, but you are by no means taller, dude.”

****

“And what would those consequence be, if I may ask?”, the older asked, pretended curiosity in his voice. He ignored Donghyuck’s last remark on purpose.

****

“Depends on you, Mark. Probably torture.”, the younger pondered.

****

“Torture, huh? It appears to be what I deserve after all. I didn’t even offer you half of my blanket while I was asleep. That’s rather brutal, some people would even describe it as cruel.” Mark participated in Donghyuck’s little game.

****

“I didn’t even consider that in my plans to torture you yet. Seems like you will have to live through many more punishments.”, the younger spoke with an amused undertone in his voice, expression serious still. He and Mark had good chemistry in terms of humour and Donghyuck liked talking to the older. There weren’t many people he could joke with. His humour could get pretty morbid sometimes after all and his mind was quick at getting back at one with witty comments. Even Jaemin and Jisung struggled to keep up with his sarcastic remarks, but those two were consumed with themselves most of the times anyways. Donghyuck was happy for them, he really was. He knew how careful they had to be around their parents, in school as well. He just longed for such a person for himself too, someone who was happy just looking at him, like how Jaemin was content just staring at his boyfriend for hours, never getting tired of it.

****

“Donghyuck? Hey, you spaced out again.”  Mark softly laid his hand on the younger’s forearm to pull him out of his daydreams.

****

“Sorry, I just thought about my friends. They are in a kind of difficult situation right now.”, Donghyuck muttered out, fiddling with his fingers.

****

“Do you maybe want to talk about it? It seems to make you quite sad.”, the older hesitantly asked.

****

Donghyuck contemplated about it. It didn’t appear like a bad idea. Back in 1989, he didn’t really have somebody to talk about these type of things. Jaemin and Jisung were his only real friends after all. In the end, the boy decided to just tell Mark. Donghyuck was still a little nervous.

****

“My friends are in a relationship, but their parents would never accept it. Neither would anyone in their class or the whole school in general. They really love each other, I can see it in their eyes. Have you ever heard of “ _looking at someone like they hung the stars in the sky”_? That’s what they do. It’s almost painful to watch because it makes you want the same thing. They have to be careful anywhere they go together, they can’t even hold hands.”, Donghyuck answered, a dazed expression on his face that had a hidden hurt in underlying.

****

Mark gulped. He didn’t expect something that heavy. It was bittersweet... something so beautiful hindered by other people.

“It is a terrible situation, but from what you told, it seems like they can hold against it. People suck. Why wouldn’t anyone accept their relationship though?”

****

“They are gay. It’s Jaemin and Jisung, pretty sure I already mentioned them. And even though you don’t know much about the last few decades, you can probably imagine what homophobia in the 1980’s was like.”, the younger explained, slightly scared of the other’s reaction.

****

“Oh, in that case…” Mark began hesitantly.

“What kind of reaction is that? Are you shocked that my friends are gay?” Donghyuck broke out immediately when the older left his sentence hang unfinished in the air.

****

“No! No, of course not. I’m not homophobic or anything, I promise. I just didn’t expect it, okay? I don’t have prejudices. Hell, basically my whole friend group is either gay or pan or whatnot. I am gay. Or pan. Or whatnot. I have no clue, but that’s irrelevant right now. I can assure you, I’m not shocked at all.” Mark was quick to respond to Donghyuck’s statement, so panicked he could have messed everything up that he ended up almost yelling.

****

“Oh God. I’m sorry, Mark. I was just being protective of my friends, they always have to put up with so much shit. And thank you for trusting me enough already to come out to me, even if the situation wasn’t the best. The worst, actually.”, the younger began apologizing. He had sat up in the process, now looking down at Mark, who was still laying on the bed, legs dangling off the side.

****

“It’s okay, Donghyuck. I understand. My friends are the same towards one another and me. I wish I could stand up for myself and others like that too, but I’m too much of a coward. I think that’s an admirable thing about you.”

The older’s voice was still calm, no hint of any grudge towards Donghyuck. The latter sighed in relief. He had been scared that he had already pissed Mark off. “Thank you. My big mouth is probably going to get me into danger one day.” Mark only nodded at Donghyuck’s remark, almost chuckling a bit.

****

“Yeah, probably. Now that I told you such an important thing about myself, and basically catapulted myself out of the closet. What about you? Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend?”, the older questioned casually.

****

“Me? No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”, Donghyuck responded with a certain undertone of sadness. Mark noticed that and turned his face further to Donghyuck, smiling at him and nodding his head, signaling him to just lay down again. The other boy did, sighing loudly.

****

“You only said boyfriend, so I assume that you’re gay as well?” Mark asked carefully. He didn’t want to risk ruining the conversation, guessing that Donghyuck was a rather emotional person in general from what he had seen until then.

****

“I mean, yeah. I never had a boyfriend though. You know, people think I’m kind of weird and then there’s still the homophobia thing. It sucks.”, Donghyuck had turned onto his side while answering Mark. The whole situation seemed odd, surreal. He was laying in bed with a guy he barely knew, in his own room in the future, pouring his heart out to him.

****

Mark meanwhile pondered whether he should be even doing any of that. He did not know the boy at all, he could be dangerous and just waiting for Mark to be distracted so he could harm him in whatever way. Although he had shown him proof of his _jumps_ , were they really valid? No, Mark was still skeptical. Even if Donghyuck had appeared just like that, in a way the older couldn’t explain no matter how hard he tried, there still was no actual evidence that could confirm his rather _interesting_ stories. And Mark, as a physic student, knew that evidence was important, more than what your eyes show you. It could be an illusion after all.

****

“What about you, Mark? Any ladies or guys waiting for you?”, the younger had meant to sound serious, but his wording made him giggle under his breath.

****

“I have to disappoint you. There’s no one interested in Mark Lee, physic student.”, the older hadn’t even finished the sentence when he already started giggling.

****

“Didn’t you get the reference? _Ted Mosby, architect_ from _How I Met Your Mother?_ ” Mark questioned while still holding his stomach.

****

“No, I didn’t. Never heard of it. Is it a movie?”, the younger replied, puzzled.

****

“Oh, I forgot, you live in the wrong decade. It’s a TV show. I’ll show you if you stay long enough. Or maybe you can come back here sometimes. It’s great having you around, to be honest.” Mark really hoped that Donghyuck would revisit him once he was back in his own year. The boy rarely had company aside from his roommate Yukhei, which basically lived with his boyfriend now. After the hours of killing his brain with the matter of space and gravity, Mark felt lonely often, having a whole apartment to himself. Adding to that, he rarely stepped out of it, except to go to university. Or grocery shopping, but Mark also rarely ate (if one could call munching on cornflakes once a day eating) so that also happened on rather infrequent occasions.

****

Donghyuck, meanwhile felt flustered that the older enjoyed having him around. From what he could tell, the apartment seemed to only host Mark at the moment, almost like Donghyuck himself basically lived on his own. His mom worked a lot and if not, she was basically sleeping all the time. The boy could of course see why, knowing how exhausted his mother stepped through the door every night. And yet he wished that she was there for him on more occasions. His brother Taeyong rarely visited, leaving Donghyuck without someone to talk to at night.

****

“Mark? If I stay here for another day or so, would you show me around the town a bit? I want to see how it has changed in the last 30 years.”, the boy muttered lowly.

****

“Of course, I'd love to. Just tell me where you want to go and I'll take you.”, Mark voiced back. It sounded interesting. He was sure that Donghyuck would non-stop talking about what had changed, in what way and describe it to him, all while waving his hands around.

****

“Thanks. What should we do now? Do you have anything on your schedule? Anywhere you have to be at?”, the younger asked, turning his head to look at Mark again. The latter smiled. Luckily he had a free weekend for once. Except working on his theory, he had nothing planned.

****

“Actually, no. I don't have anything planned. Maybe, if you want to, I could show you some music and stuff. You know, it's pretty different than what you're used to, I think you would like it.”, the older said softly, a little hesitant.

****

“Yeah, of course! I would love to, but I only agree if you let me show you some music as well. But dude, I bet on my Michael Jackson vinyl collection that my music is better than yours. I jumped to 2007 like two years ago and there was a radio playing, and I can tell you, I had a headache for two hours straight after listening to those songs. I couldn't even turn it off because there were other people there. It was a nightmare.” Donghyuck shook his head in disgust thinking about.

****

“Wait, 2007, that must have been somewhat like emo punk if it gave you a headache. I had a phase when I was really into it, when i was thirteen. Not for everyone but it kind of comforted me back then. I’m an only child, so I often felt lonely in our house all by myself. We would move from city to city, sometimes even to different countries so in addition to my parents working 24/7, I also had no friends.” Mark commented, his face falling quickly.

****

“Sounds pretty familiar.” Donghyuck remarked.

****

“What do you mean?”, the older asked, blinking away two stray tears that had threatened to escape his eyes.

****

“My mother’s barely home and my brother moved out four years ago. Jaemin and Jisung are my only friends and they’ve pretty much been hanging out by themselves the whole two years since they began dating. I’m not mad at them but it still sucks.”

Donghyuck pouted, his bottom lip jutting out. Mark tried the only reasonable thing - change the topic.

****

“You know, it’s kind of weird, Donghyuck. When I’m talking to you, it feels like I’ve known you for some time already. That’s probably why I told you so much about me already. Wait, no. I haven’t told you much, but what I told you…” Mark took a deep breath. “What I told you were important things.”

****

_“Mark, that’s not how you change the fucking topic! Why do you keep on embarrassing yourself? Idiot, you are such an idiot.”_ the boy was once again scolding himself inside his head. Next to him, Donghyuck stared at his side profile, eyes wide in disbelief. Even though feeling the same, he was at loss for words.

 _“Say something, Hyuck. He just told you about his emotions, don’t be such an insensitive asshole.”_ the younger almost shouted out loud, but managed to keep his mouth shut and his thoughts inside his head.

****

Mark shook his head, raising his hands to his head to rub over his face.

“I-, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

****

“No, don’t you dare take that back now. How did you think I was gonna react? Scream like an immature shit rooster and run away?”, Donghyuck barked at the other boy.

****

“I didn’t think you were gonna do that! And what the hell is a shit rooster?”, Mark answered abashed.

****

“It was a rhetorical question.” Donghyuck stated, massaging the bridge of his nose. At that point, both had sat up, like they had done what felt like a hundred times since they had entered Mark’s room.

****

“Sorry.”, the older mumbled, defeated by Donghyuck’s explosive temper.

****

“No, why are you always apologizing?”, the younger asked, a desperate undertone in his voice. He didn’t like the way Mark gave in so fast, it would be a downside for him sooner or later, making him vulnerable and a quick target for people to take advantage of him. Clearly, Donghyuck did not like that.

****

“I can’t help it! I’m a canadian!” This time, it was Mark’s turn to raise his voice.

“Why do you care anyways? What does it matter to you if I take it back or not? It’s irrelevant and just slipped from my mouth. It’s meaningless.”, he added, faux venom lacing his words to make the younger move on from his dumb comment. It felt distressing to him. Donghyuck’s presence made his mouth loose, almost as if the universe wanted to give them any reason to become closer, even if that happened through awkward confessions.

****

The younger felt a sting in his chest. “Irrelevant” - if that was Mark’s opinion on it, Donghyuck was happy he didn’t speak it out. Maybe it was good that he’d be gone soon. Overall, it seemed like the boys mostly ended up in arguments, and if that already appears as a problem after such short time of knowing each other then they were not meant to know each other at all.

****

“Alright, let’s just listen to the damn music then.”, Mark broke the short silence that had occured, indicating his desire to leave the situation behind. He got up to get his laptop from the desk and sat back down on the bed, a significant bigger space between Donghyuck and him this time. Air thick and uncomfortable suddenly, the younger cleared his throat.

****

“What is that?”, the younger asked, curiously pointing at the flat, silver object laying on top of Mark’s legs.

****

“It’s a laptop.”, the boy explained quickly, but when he saw that Donghyuck still didn’t seem to understand, he added: “It’s a portable computer. You know what a computer is, right?”

****

“Yes, but the ones in 1989 are huge and ugly. Plus they cost a fortune.”, the younger muttered. “Is the little silver rectangular on your desk a laptop too?”

Mark blinked in bewilderment before looking over to his desk and recognizing his phone there. “I mean, in some ways. It’s a smartphone and you can use it for almost everything, even though it’s a little inconvenient at times because of the little screen.”

****

“It’s a phone? Like portable too? It’s so tiny! But where are the buttons? You know what, we have phones like that too in 1989. Even though you can only make calls with them. And they’re big and ugly. Plus they cost a fortune.” Donghyuck was lowkey excited, the future had so many practical and interesting things. On his usual short trips into a year that had yet to happen for him, there basically were no opportunities to look around. But the boy also didn't want to try and jump into the future by his own will. Even though Donghyuck was a tough little guy, he was way too scared of seeing anything that would rob his sleep - especially regarding the not so small chances to catch a glimpse of his own future. To Donghyuck, it seemed terrifying. He had no certainty that he would like his future.

****

“Everything in 1989 seems to be big and ugly, huh? Plus cost a fortune” Mark summarised the younger’s comments, almost chuckling but concealing it with a nervous, loud cough that made Donghyuck flinch.

****

“Actually, no. I’m by no means big and ugly. Although I have to agree that I am indeed expensive. Some would go as far to call me precious.” And there they were again, Donghyuck’s semi-funny jokes. Mark was relieved, the younger didn’t appear to be too pissed. Little did he know that Donghyuck was only trying to lift the mood with his sarcastic comments. He was allergic to tense atmospheres. Mark smiled at him, hesitantly at first. Opening his laptop and logging in, he noticed how Donghyuck leaned over to get a better view of the screen, eyes big and trying to take everything in while Mark fastened through the programmes and apps. Lastly clicking on Spotify and with that, opening the dark tab that stretched over half of the screen.

He hadn’t exactly thought about what songs to show Donghyuck, now wondering what playlist he should choose. In the end, he decided for one that had a few slow songs, some Alternative/Indie and R&B, as well as soft rap. Mark thought that Donghyuck would probably like those songs.

****

“I think it would be best if we just skip through these a bit. What do you want to do while listening?”, Mark asked, scared that an awkward silence would sit on their chests heavily.

****

Donghyuck fiddled with his hands that were located on top of his denim-clothed thighs.

“Could we just lay in bed again? That’s how I prefer listening to music, especially when listening to it for the first time.” He nodded in the direction where in 1989 his record player stood, against the wall right between the desk and bed, on a dark wooden shelf with most of his vinyls underneath. He had totally forgotten that it wasn't there anymore. “It’s easier for me to concentrate on the song itself then. Helps me to blend out the rest of the world. Also, your mattress is way more comfy than mine.” Donghyuck added with a face that told Mark how unfair he found that the latter had a nicer bed than him.

****

“Sure, we can. I’m kind of tired again, so it comes in handy. And what type of cruel person would I be to refuse you the relaxation of a good mattress?”, Mark replied while yawning, scrunching up his nose a bit. He properly got onto the bed, so his legs weren’t dangling off anymore, and grabbed a pillow to hug it to his chest. The boy was fascinated at how they could talk so easily again right after raising their voices. It had to be their brief acquaintance. The calm after the slight storm caused by mere politeness. His guts told him differently, but Mark didn’t listen.

****

Time passed like thick honey for the boys. Every now and then Donghyuck would ask for the name of the song, which Mark answered with “ _Baby Please by Black Pool_ ” or _“Honesty by Pink Sweat_ _$”,_ even though at some point he only eeplied with “Donghyuck, just look onto the screen!”, what only resulted in the younger pouting and complaining: “But I don’t want to get up.”

In the end, Mark let Donghyuck convince him to show him how to make a playlist, so that he could add all the songs he liked to it without having to ask the older everytime. Donghyuck loved the mellow music in Mark’s playlist. It was different to the melodies he usually listened to and he already tried to figure out a way to get all the songs with him back to 1989. 

****

It was an enjoyable atmosphere and both boys didn’t mind the comfortable silence once the playlist had ended and the most prominent sound was the rising and falling of their chests. _“Time has passed quickly again.”_ thought Donghyuck as he noticed the late afternoon sun that painted the room in warm colors. He was unsure when he would jump back into his own year, but he already imagined himself walking into school and waving at Jaemin and Jisung. They probably would be waiting at their usual spot again, behind the staircase where no one could see Jisung grabbing Jaemin’s hand or Jaemin placing little pecks on the younger’s nose and cheeks. Donghyuck would tell them about Mark and the music they listened to. He would try to express how much time had passed for him, while their world had stood still. Or at least he was convinced that that was the case.

****

But in that moment, he was still next to Mark, who was still hugging the pillow. The younger gently turned his head away and looked out of the window. He could only see such a small part of the city he had grown up in, but nonetheless, it was obvious how much had changed. Even the sky seemed different. He felt a light breeze on his cheek from the passing air coming through the opened ceiling window.

Mark stirred and sat up. His hair was disheveled and he had a mark on his temple were his face had met the soft pillow case. Donghyuck sat up as well.

****

“So…”, the older began, dragging the word out.

****

“Yeah, um… Thank you for showing me the music.” Donghyuck chimed in, before Mark could anything to complete his sentence.

****

“No problem. Are you hungry? It’s like 5 p.m., I could get some food.”, he offered, looking for something to talk about.

****

“Oh, that would be great. But I’m warning you, I eat a lot.”, Donghyuck announced and saw Mark grin for a millisecond.

****

“Well, I usually don't eat much, so you can have most of my portion too.” Mark replied, and smiled at the way the younger’s expression lit up.

****

“No wonder you’re so skinny.” Donghyuck huffed, the corners of his lips still curved up.

****

“You are skinny as well, yet you seem to be a good eater.”, the older mentioned, eyeing Donghyuck up and down.

****

“That’s true. But you seem like the muscular-skinny type that still has some shit like lean abs, while I’m scrawny-skinny and just bony. And soft, my tummy is really soft but that’s another story.” Donghyuck explained and absentmindedly poked his stomach.

****

“You think, I have abs? Because I’m like pretty far from them. I feel flattered, but you’re mistaken.”, the older responded, his cheeks blushing in the orange sunlight.

“I don’t believe you, Mark. You’re just like Jisung, nobody would think that you are more than skin and bones. And then, one fine day, you go swimming or you change your shirt and then _boom_.” Donghyuck alleged, making Mark hide his face in the pillow that still laid in his lap.

****

The older stood up with his face slowly heating up. He wasn’t good with handling people who just spoke out what they thought, Mark often simply didn’t know how to react. Nodding towards the door, he said, “Let's just eat?” and watched Donghyuck climb out of the bed as well, just to pass him and make his way to the kitchen without Mark.

****

When Mark arrived there a few seconds after Donghyuck, the other boy had already looked through the fridge, just ensuring that the older hadn’t overlook anything edible hours ago. But much to Donghyuck's regret, there wasn't, which made him whine out.

****

“Dude, don’t you have a roommate that has to eat? Do you even buy groceries? Do you even _care_ for yourself?”, the younger complained, his voice a little higher than normal and his mouth in a pout.

****

“Technically yes. No. Technically yes.” Mark replied, pretending to think hard about the questions. When Donghyuck just looked at him with a confused expression, he explained, “My roommate, Yukhei, has been sleeping at his boyfriend’s apartment for two months already, he only stops by to get clothes or something. I don’t really buy groceries because I mostly order takeout. And do I care for myself? Although I don’t make the effort to live off of healthy and nutritious food, I do take body hygiene and tidiness very seriously.”

****

Donghyuck nodded slowly. He could tell that Mark was all about organization and cleanliness from the way his room wasn’t a mess and how his bed and his clothes all smelled flowery and fresh, just like out of the washing machine. Mark himself also had a pleasant scent, and Donghyuck asked himself why he even thought about it that much.

****

“We can order takeout too now. And if you really stay longer, I will go grocery shopping. Overall, we need to figure out what to do if you should stay here for more than, let’s say two or three days. Don’t get me wrong, I’m someone who is okay with sharing, but you’ll need more than just a shirt or so. And I’m not sure if I’m comfortable letting you sleep with me in my bed the whole time.”, the older fiddled with his ink-splattered fingers. At that point, he was almost completely sure that Donghyuck wouldn’t hurt him and was just as unlucky as him in the situation.

****

“I understand. I probably wouldn’t let a stranger sleep in my bed as well. We will just see what happens, I could literally jump back any second. I really have to carry that backpack with me around the apartment.” Donghyuck leaned against the kitchen counter and looked down, the floor had dots of paint all over it and he wondered what could’ve caused them.

****

“I’m going to make the couch as comfortable as possible for you. But for now, what do you want to eat?” Mark promised, fishing his smartphone out of his pocket. He had grabbed it from his desk on his way to the kitchen.

****

“Um, maybe just some _Tteokbokki_? I’ve been really craving it lately, it makes me feel like a pregnant lady. Is that okay for you?”

****

Mark laughed at Donghyuck’s comparison and answered, “Yeah, it’s okay. Just let me order real quick.” He dialed the number of his favorite food place and stepped into the hallway. The younger made his way into the living room, hearing Mark’s voice hushed through the walls. Just like in the hallways, the light blue wallpaper and dark floor had remained the same. The old black leather couch had been replaced by a bigger and more comfortable grey one, pillows with the periodic table and single element prints thrown onto it. It was unusual to see his home in this _disguise_ , but Donghyuck liked it. He just kept looking around, roaming around the small room and examining the few framed pictures on the walls and checking out the weirdly thin videocassettes stacked onto the shelf above the TV. The boy didn’t know most movies, but he still recognized one or too. Almost all of them were Disney movies - _The Little Mermaid, Cinderella_ and _Peter Pan_ to name some.

****

When Mark reentered the kitchen, he observed Donghyuck through the door leading into the living room. The younger’s gaze was fixed on his DVD collection, and Mark couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He had a child-like love for Disney movies and rom-coms, while other guys his age were obsessed with Marvel or something along those lines. As he shifted his weight onto his other leg, his joints cracked loudly, making Donghyuck turn around and Mark curse his bones, which got way too little exercise.

****

“You like Disney movies, huh?”, the younger asked with a smug grin on his face. Was it his intention to tease Mark? Absolutely. The older appeared a good target.

****

“Yeah, I do. Don’t you too? They make me feel like I’m not in university already.” He took a few steps into the living room, halting next to Donghyuck, pointing onto one of the DVD cases. “This is my favourite one, _Peter Pan_. Not having to grow up sounds amazing, living in midst of adventures as a child forever.” His voice was soft and low, the look in his eyes seemed far away.

****

“I like too, but I prefer this.” Donghyuck pulled out _The Little Mermaid_ and spent some time scanning over the cover. “Jaemin always says that I’m like Arielle - stubborn and bubbly. I even dyed my hair fire red last year because I thought it was cool.” Mark silently agreed and imagined the boy with an angry red mob on his head. At least they weren't arguing anymore.

****

_In the cold universe, the voice opened his mouth again._

_“Not even a day passed and I already had more fun than in the last hundred years. They were a good choice for my game. And what kind of pathetic game master would I be if I made this boring? Let the whisperings begin.” The clock kept on running._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I finally had some time to finish the chapter, I hope you like it. Please leave me a comment with Feedback. My CC and Twitter are @pastelbluenana.


	5. Captain Shitrooster

Donghyuck and Mark ate in silence, the only noises coming from the TV that quietly played in the background. The younger paid attention to the screen now and then between bites, intently watching the unknown show. Mark had told the truth when he said he wouldn't eat much. In the end, more than half of his food had remained in his bowl. After he had caught Donghyuck eyeing the contents several times, he exchanged their bowls so the younger could have his portion as well. The action brought a genuine smile on Donghyuck’s face and he thanked Mark, but only after complaining that he should eat a little more. The older saw no other choice than digging his chopsticks into the meal one last time.

“See? Eating is important. I'm gonna tell your roommate to keep an eye on you.”, the younger said. It made Mark grin, he imagined a surprised Yukhei getting a phone call from an unknown high-pitched voice, threatening him to feed Mark.

Donghyuck witnessed the amused expression on the older's face and slapped his shoulder, “I'm serious .” But he smiled as well, revealing a pair of dimples.

Mark slid his phone out of his pocket to check the time. _“8:38 p.m. and I still didn’t get anything done.”_ Sighing loudly, he averted his gaze to Donghyuck, who was happily munching on the food, then to the TV. Although he could really use a day of rest, a day of not abusing his brain, he still contemplated about excusing himself to his room to further work on his theory. He caught a glimpse of the small backpack that leaned against the couch, stuffed to the rim. _“Donghyuck could jump back any second, it would be mean to abandon him.”_ His guts gave him the feeling that he was right to stay with the boy.

More time passed. Every now and then, Donghyuck would giggle or even laugh while being focused on the reality show, his face illuminated from the screen. He often nudged Mark’s side to ask things like _“What is Instagram?"_ or _“What does tea mean and why did they spill it?”_ Soon, the clock read 11:05 p.m. and the older slowly began to yawn. Donghyuck, on the other hand, didn’t show any signs of tiredness. So when Mark announced that he would be heading to bed, to _“at least get sleep at a proper time for once, you know?”_ , the boy only shrugged and wished him goodnight.

“You can watch TV a little longer, just don’t be too loud. Blankets and pillows are in the box next to the couch and for the love of God, don’t burn the apartment down.” Mark begged with droopy eyes. Finding another apartment like this would be hard.

“Thank you, I think I can manage to fall asleep peacefully without the fire department having to roll in. Dream of me, Mark.” He had a smug grin on his face. Spending one day with him was enough for Mark to realize what a tease the younger was.

The older scoffed and replied under his breath, “Yeah, I hope not.”  
With a last glance at Donghyuck, he exited the room to wash up and then hop onto his mattress and under the covers. As he stood in front of the mirror, he studied his face again, just like the night before. Sure that Donghyuck was, in fact, real he didn’t question his sanity anymore. The overwhelming and startling emotion he had experienced when the younger appeared had faded. It was more of an underlying unbelieve at how it was even possible, but Mark was sure that he would find out.

While washing his face, a voice suddenly popped into his head.

_“It’s him. You should go back to him. It’s him.”_

It felt foreign, it didn’t belong to him and Mark was frightened. Had he been wrong, was he actually going insane now? Drying his face, he had waited for the airy whisper to come back, but it stayed silent. Relief washed over him. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come back and hunt him in his sleep. He stepped into his room and closed the door, still confused and slightly scared by the incident. Turning around to face his bed, he prayed inside his head that no demon or ghost would sit there. He watched enough horror movies to know that something might be lurking in the shadows under his bed. As he couldn’t find any evidence of creatures, he breathed out and changed into a different t-shirt to sleep in. Had Mark been living in the same sweatpants for three days now? Yes, he had. With pride. And no motivation to throw it inside the washing machine. But most importantly with pride. After some more worried glares around the dim lit room, Mark was finally able to close his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Donghyuck was still busy having his orbs fixed onto the flat screen, learning 2010er slang and sipping on a bottle of water the other had offered him earlier that evening. Even though he usually had the energy of ten toddlers (the comparison came, again, from Jaemin), the events of the last day had drained him. As his lids started to feel heavier with each second, he felt around the seat for the remote to turn off the TV. After pulling out two blankets and one extra pillow from the box Mark had mentioned earlier, Donghyuck was able to find a semi-comfortable position on the couch and fall asleep as well - his knees drawn to his chest and his arms hugging his legs.

The next morning, Mark was woken up by something tickling his neck. Stirring slightly, he opened his eyes halfway and shrieked after he was met with the sight of an orange bush of hair. Only then he noticed how the mattress dipped beside him, more than usual. Donghyuck’s eyes remained closed, his sleep unfazed by the older’s noises. Mark took a deep breath and settled down again, shifting to create a distance between him and the boy who still slept so soundly.

“Is he gonna crawl into my bed each night now, or what?”, he murmured and scoffed lightly. In fact, Mark had told Donghyuck that he would prefer if they slept separately, whereupon the younger agreed, so why was he next to him? The older just slipped his phone off the nightstand where it had charged all night and waited for Donghyuck to wake up while reading through several online news articles.  
When the younger awoke, the sound that escaped his throat was at least as disturbing as the one that Mark had made before, if not even more. Running his hand through his hair, Donghyuck sat up and tried catching his breath after the shock.

“Why the hell am I in my room? Mark, did you bring me here because you were lonely?”, the younger accused in a raw voice, husky in the back of his throat.

“Are you serious? You brought your own ass here! And it’s still my room.” A tired Mark was a Mark that quickly got pissed, therefore the older was ready to throw at least one pillow into Donghyuck’s stupid sleepy face. Maybe even three.

“Ah, I forgot that you own this apartment now.”, the younger replied while rubbing his eyes, sitting up against the headboard. “God, don’t get angry so fast. By the way, I didn’t come here on purpose. Possible that I sleepwalked, happens often when I don’t sleep in my own room.”

“I have the right to get angry, I don’t want to wake up next to you every day you stay here.” Mark had placed his glasses back onto his nose, to his bed head he just looked like a little boy with a stubble on his chin. Donghyuck laughed highly and consequently the older frowned and averted his gaze on the other.

“Can you please take me seriously?”

“Not when you look like that, dude.”, Donghyuck replied, giggling. He reached his hands upwards to smooth Mark’s hair down, which the older flinched at, surprised by the action. “I just want to fix your hair, stay calm.”

The older nodded and cleared his throat.  
“Thank you.”

“No problem. It's Saturday, can we go into look around the city today? Or do you have any other plans?” Donghyuck withdrew his hands, letting them fall onto the duvet that covered his legs.

Mark's gaze shifted around the room, settling onto an abandoned nail in the ceiling while he thought, mentally going through his schedule. “No, I'm free today. We can go, but only if you leave my bed right now. It's going to smell like you and I don't like that.”

Pouting and crossing his arms over his narrow chest, Donghyuck almost jumped back onto the mattress fully. “I'm not going to leave, it's way too comfortable here. I'm going to suffer irreparable back damage if I lay my ass on that couch now. And believe me, hospitals and doctors are shit in 1989.”

The older tried to swallow down the small pity he felt for Donghyuck. In the end, he wasn't able to, he couldn't help but remind himself that the younger didn't want to be there either. He was caught in that year, and it happened to be with Mark. _“He will be gone soon. Don’t make his time here bad in any way.”_

Sighing loudly, the older changed his mind, “Alright, you can stay. Did I forget to give you clothes to sleep in?”

Donghyuck looked down onto himself and picked at his polo shirt, the same he had worn since changing the morning in 1989 before he jumped.

“Oh, yes. It’s not a problem, but please give me a different shirt for when we go outside later. You know, the way people will think that you’re my boyfriend.” The younger suggestively raised his eyebrows. Mark sighed once again, Donghyuck’s behavior was amusing and they clicked well, but it also was straining.

“If it makes you happy that random people think we’re dating. God, I don’t want to get up yet, what’s the time anyway.”, the older responded, checking on his phone. “10:13 p.m.”, he groaned. He stood up to open the ceiling window, the air inside the small room had become stuffy overnight. After he sat down onto the bed again, an awkward silence settled between them. Donghyuck kept glancing to the Mark, searching his mind for possible topics to talk about. The boy didn't like silence, even comfortable silence was overrated to him.

“So… Mark, I think you should eat something, you seem hungry.”, he quickly threw in, almost stumbling over his words.

“I’m really not-”, the older began confused, but Donghyuck left him no time to complete his sentence.

“Glad you agree. Let’s go.” The boy stood up and strode towards the door, dragging Mark with him. Donghyuck had the audacity to stop his steps abruptly once they were in the kitchen, which nearly caused the older to fall face first onto the white tile floor.  
Mark gasped in relief when he could catch himself just in time.  
“Please, never do that again.”

“Okidoki, whatever you say, Captain Shitrooster.” Donghyuck’s was muffled, he was already getting the pack of cornflakes and the milk from the fridge and cupboard. A little giggle echoed from the walls.

Choking on his own spit, Mark lightly slapped his chest in an attempt to lessen his cough. “Would you stop…. calling me Shitrooster?”

Unfazed and with two bowls in his hands, ready to pour the cornflakes, the younger responded, “Alright, Mister Schmancy-fancy Pants.” He had to seriously suppress breaking out in laughter when he heard Mark behind him mutter something along the lines of _“ignore it, Minhyung, you’re a big boy”_.

Donghyuck handed Mark a bowl, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Eat up, big boy.” After that, he couldn’t hold it back and broke out cackling, especially seeing the dead annoyed face of the older. Mark, ready again to throw something at the boy, turned in his heels and walked into the living room. Plopping down onto the couch, he felt around for the remote that hid under one of the throw pillows. He turned on the TV, switching to the news channel.

That moment, Donghyuck passed through the door and sat next to Mark, a little to close for the older’s liking. But he wasn’t going to bother to shift, he was way too comfortable in his current position.

The younger cleared his throat exaggerated, his voice mimicked a bit deeper when he said, “Donghyuck, thank you for giving me this delicious bowl of cornflakes.”

Mark frowned and averted his gaze onto Donghyuck. “I’m not even hungry.”  
The bowl still sat untouched in his lap. Then his stomach growled and he quickly looked back at the TV again, suddenly very concentrated on the things the news reporter had to announce about an abnormally big kangaroo in Australia. Donghyuck laughed again.

“Bon appetit then, Captain Shitrooster.” He said through a mouth full of milk and sugar, he had mostly eaten the flakes dry while he was in the kitchen and just drank the oversweet milk with his spoon now.

“Says the boy who is sipping his breakfast off a spoon.” Mark scoffed back, losing interest in the kangaroo.

“My dude, that’s not weird, that’s smart.”, the younger barked back, careful not to spit on the other.

“Yeah, I don’t see it. When you’re done, we can change and then walk downtown, it’s not far and-”, he began but then noticed the amused expression on Donghyuck’s face. “And you already know that because you live here too.”

“That and the fact that you still have an imprint from the pillow on your face.”, he giggled and studied it intently. “Looks like a mutant poodle, to be honest.” Now even Mark had to laugh, almost knocking over his cereal. Between holding his stomach and wiping a tear, his gaze shortly shifted to Donghyuck, who was smiling sweetly at him.

“Just eat up, Mark.”, the younger reminded him again.

“So, no Captain Shitrooster anymore?” Mark raised his eyebrows.

Donghyuck accidentally spit his sip of sweet milk out. “Now you’re basically asking for it, so I swear, if I hear you complain about it one more time…”, He warningly raised his hand, scrunching up his nose.

“I won’t, okay? And I’m going to eat it just for you.” Mark dipped his spoon back in. Maybe he actually was hungry. Just a little bit. _“It’s probably because you are for once not distracted with work.”_

They continued eating in silence and in between crunching cereal in his mouth, Mark changed the TV program to Spongebob Squarepants, which drew a giggle out of Donghyuck every now and then. Afterwards, they put the dishes into the sink and returned to Mark’s room. The older took out a random hanger from the wardrobe, a royal blue long sleeve on it. Handing it to Donghyuck, he announced, “Here, from your boyfriend.” But the boy didn’t take it yet.

The younger’s head whipped around, a surprised look on his face. “What do you mean?”

“You said, you wanted people to think we’re dating. So, here is my shirt.” He pointed his index finger between them. “From me to you.”

Donghyuck fiddled with his fingers, the tip of his ears heating up. He finally reached out to grab a hold of the cloth hanger. “Thank you…”, he began and then murmured “... _boyfriend_.”

Mark scratched his neck and slowly responded, “Yeah, no problem.”

“I’m going to change in the bathroom.” Donghyuck muttered and strolled to the other side of the room to pass through the door of the adjacent bathroom.  
Observing himself inside the mirror after taking off his polo, he noticed that his cheeks were flushed and quickly covered them with his hands, trying to cool them down.

“This is not good, Hyuck.”, he whispered to himself, intently eyeing his reflection. Suddenly a voice crept its way inside his head, it was light and airy.

_“Go back to him. He’s the one. Go back now.”_

Donghyuck gasped and inspected the whole room, one hand clutching his bare chest, the other clenching around Mark’s shirt.

“Hello? Who are you?”, he said quietly, voice becoming steadier in the end. When no answer came, he whispered nervously, “W-what the fuck?”

Donghyuck hurried to pull the longsleeve over his head, almost ripping the sleeve in the process and cursing under his breath. Quickly throwing the door open, he stormed back into the bedroom, his lung still heaving under his ribs from the shock.

He must have looked like a mess, like he had seen a ghost or whatever you want to call it, and Mark noticed right away. The younger tried steadying his breathing once he saw the concerned expression on the other’s face.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself or-” Mark’s attempt to ask what happened was soon stopped by Donghyuck, who simply raised both of his hands.

 _“You can’t tell him what happened, he’s going to think you’re fucking crazy.”_ , the boy told himself inside his mind.

“I’m fine, I just, um…”, his eyes darted around the room while considering anything he could give Mark as a believable explanation. “The lamp flickered and I stubbed my toe.” Donghyuck gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back.

Meanwhile, the older nodded and his face softened, the crease between his brows disappearing. “Good, I thought something serious happened to you.”

Donghyuck toyed with the sleeves of the shirt, which was a little too big on him. Shaking his head, he lied, “No, I’m okay. Yeah, all peachy.”

“Do you want to go then? Downtown, I mean.”, Mark asked the still puzzled boy. The latter drove his hand through his hair one last time and agreed silently by taking his shoes out of the backpack that stood next to the bed. Neither of them had taken it there, but after the incident, Donghyuck was too caught up in his thoughts to even question it.

“Do I need my jacket? Or is it warm enough outside?”, the younger asked, already it taking out.

“Depends on you. Do you freeze easily?” Mark asked, whereupon Donghyuck shook his head. “Then leave it in the backpack, you can still put it one later if you’re cold.”

Both boys tied their shoes, the younger also waiting on the bed while Mark finished washing up in the bathroom, and then exited the apartment. To Donghyuck, the surface of the house already looked different, it was painted simply white, whereas in 1989, the color had faded to an ugly gray. Mark led the younger through streets and alleys, over crosswalks and around traffic lights. Donghyuck knew all of them, they all were familiar, yet they seemed so foreign. The cars were bigger and there were in general way more of them. Walking around, his throat felt the change in the air, the fumes and waste gases made him cough several times before Mark magically pulled out two masks from his pocket. After lacing them around his ears, it helped with filtering the pollution.

Donghyuck also noticed how much the taller the buildings had grown, the closer they got to the city center. Despite all the changes, may they be pleasant or not, the boy loved his old new hometown. Mark was next to him at all times they strolled around, often observing the younger’s reactions when he once again discovered a new skyscraper or saw people with an extraordinary style. That was another thing Donghyuck loved - the clothes. What he would give to be able to roam the shopping mile for a day.

Sadly, their tour came to an end after half an hour, because the clouds decided it would be a good time to empty themselves. Consequently, Mark and Donghyuck ended up being squished together uncomfortably under a narrow roof at first to protect them from the rain, but when the younger felt his leg cramp painfully from standing in the weird position for too long, the other grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a nearby café. Coincidence seemed to play a game with them because the café was indeed 80’s themed, which made Donghyuck really happy but also complain about the terrible interior design. _“If it looked like this in 1989, I would jump every day out of free will just to flee from it.”_

But his mood was once again lifted, when the song, from the boxes hanging in the ceiling corners, changed to something very familiar. Donghyuck grasped the older’s arm, his eyes wide and full of joy when he looked at him.

“Do you know what song that is?”, he asked excitedly, his lips curved into a big smile.

Mark was overwhelmed, yet he tried to concentrate on the music. He had definitely heard it once before, but he couldn’t pinpoint either the artist nor the title.

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know, Donghyuck.”, the older admitted bashfully. The grip on his forearm tightened and he hissed lightly. Despite that, he didn’t want to say anything about it, not wanting to ruin the other’s spirit.

“It’s Michael Jackson! I love Michael Jackson! And do you know what song it is?” It obviously was a rhetorical question, because he didn’t even pause a second to leave room for Mark’s answer. “It’s _Dirty Diana_! I love _Dirty Diana_!” The younger still beamed, a bright smile decorating his face. Mark liked seeing the boy so happy.

“Michael Jackson, huh?” Donghyuck nodded enthusiastically.

“Does he still make music? Can we listen to his new songs later? Can we, please?”, the younger pleaded, his eyes becoming even bigger and his heart-shaped lips forming into a pout.

Mark remembered seeing the singer’s death announced in the morning news a few years ago. Not knowing what to answer, he only mumbled “shit” to himself. Ruining Donghyuck’s smile was not an option, but lying about something the younger would find out later anyways was also out of question.

“Um, see the thing is…”, the boy hesitantly began, studying the way Donghyuck’s face lit up once again. He was almost glowing at that point. “The thing is, he can’t make music anymore.” Mark bit his bottom lip.

The younger’s face already fell. “Why not? Is he sick? Or is he occupied with his family?”

“No, actually that’s not the case. He died in 2009.” Donghyuck abruptly let go of Mark’s arm, the pout returning and his forehead frowned. Sniffling, he wrapped his arms around himself.

“But-”, he started sobbing, “but why?” Mark watched a tear fall from the younger’s eyes, slowly rolling down his cheek and leaving a wet, salty path.

“Don’t cry, Donghyuck.”, the older panicked, hectically searching for anything to distract the boy. “You should smile. Did you know that you threaten the sun when you smile?”

Donghyuck looked up to Mark, his sobs halted. “My friends call me Haechan because of that. They say I'm their sun.” Still sniffling, he patted the residues of the tears dry with his shirt sleeve.

“I can see why they do.”, the older had planned to ask, but a voice interrupted him, light and airy.

 _“Comfort him. He's the one. Hold him.”_  
The older ignored the whisper.

“Better now? Let's go home, huh?”, Mark responded, pointing out of the window. “It stopped raining.”

Wiping his runny nose with a napkin one last time, Donghyuck followed Mark as the latter stood up and went through the door. The walk back seemed shorter to the younger, maybe because there was nothing left to see. He had taken everything in already.

As they passed the door to Mark's apartment, kicking off their shoes, Donghyuck marched straight to his bedroom and fell onto the soft bed. After finding out that his idol was dead, his mind had been clouded with sadness. Not necessarily all for the singer, no. More it was the realization that things wouldn't last forever. Ever since Donghyuck had started jumping, time has had a different meaning for him.

Mark entered the room as well and recognized a slumped, blurry figure on his bed. He had forgotten his glasses on the nightstand after cleaning them before they went downtown. Hearing the younger sobbing again, he approached him, nearing the bed.

It wasn't solely his decision, something influenced him. But when he finally set the glasses low on his nose and saw Donghyuck's red eyes and flushed nose, Mark didn’t care anymore. Almost as if they had an empathetic bond, a wave of sadness washed over him as well, leaving his eyes watering. A shiver ran down his spine.

He remembered what the voice had told him. To hold Donghyuck. To comfort him. It didn't seem that bad of a thing. Mark began softly laying his warm hand on the boy's shoulder, shaking with each sob from his throat. When Donghyuck appeared to accept the touch, the older sat down in front of him. The younger had his legs crossed in a way that could impossibly be comfortable, his head hanging low. An occasional tear that dropped onto the bleached denim of his jeans.

“Donghyuck.” Mark murmured. His thumb moved to rub light circles onto Donghyuck's collarbone. “Please don't be sad.” The boy looked up, lips in a pout again and his eyes teary.

“I-I don't even know why I'm so sad. I'm sorry-”, the younger began, voice becoming more brittle with each word before it broke.

As the older witnessed Donghyuck with his big childlike eyes that already started to form tears again, his body acted on it's own and wrapped of both of his arms around the younger. One holding him just above his waist, the other gently cupping the back of his head. The younger squeaked in surprise but didn't pull back. Slowly accommodating to the embrace, he averted his head to place it on Mark's shoulder. It was unexpectedly pleasant. To Donghyuck, it felt familiar, almost too familiar.

Soon, Mark loosened his arms, signaling the other to draw back as well. As they sat in front of each other normally again, both kept their heads low, gaze not meeting the one of the boy opposite.

“Thank you, I guess.” Donghyuck broke the silence when he couldn't stand it anymore.

Mark's eyes darted over the younger's damp cheeks. “You're welcome…”, hesitantly, he added, “...Haechan.”

Donghyuck's head shot up at that, not used to someone except Jaemin and Jisung using that name. The older noticed the reaction, panicking he said, “If you don’t like me calling you that, then I’m going to stop. I’m sorry.”

The boy quickly waved it off, sniffling one last time. “No, it’s okay. I consider you a friend already, Mark. Not everybody would be so nice to let a random guy live with them for an unknown amount of time.”

Mark chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, you might be right about that.”

_The owner of the voice had a satisfied smile decorating his face._  
_“They are listening.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it took me a bit longer for this chapter, just because i was busy. I hope you like it, and pls leave me some feedback in the comments :))
> 
> My Twitter and CC are both @pastelbluenana


	6. Y-M-C-A, it's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A

The atmosphere was awkward after Donghyuck’s little breakdown. Mark’s solution for that was putting on music. _Happy music for the sun_ , he had said as he opened his laptop. The older wasn't sure which song to play, so he just shuffled a _Throwback to the 70's and 80's_ playlist, which seemed to work, because Donghyuck's head immediately shot up. 

****

“You didn't-”, he began, before Mark interrupted him. 

****

“I sure as hell did.”, he grinned. Donghyuck sprung up from the bed and that's when Mark regretted his actions, because the boy wouldn't stop screaming _Y-M-C-A, it's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A._ Not even only that, Donghyuck also danced like a maniac, which was ironic, because the next song was _Maniac._ Mark was in awe at how the younger's moves all looked smooth and sharp, even though he was just fooling around. Donghyuck fell down on the bed after two more songs, his chest heaving but a smile on his face nonetheless. 

****

“God, I love this.”, he breathed out, letting his right hand fall over his racing heart. 

****

Mark chuckled and hovered his head over the younger's. “Yeah, I saw that. Do you dance?”

****

Donghyuck nodded and shut his eyes. Having Mark’s this close made his insides feel weird. “Me and my friends dance together thrice a week. Jisung is amazing at breakdancing. I focus more on Modern and Jaemin on Ballet, but we all teach eachother so I basically am a dance chameleon.” The younger's confident smile was back, the undertone in his voice playful again. 

****

_p.o.v jaemin and jisung_

****

“Nana, have you see Haechannie?” Jisung hurried to ask as soon as his boyfriend came in sight. 

****

“No, I just wanted to know that from you.”, the older replied, then hugging Jisung as a greeting. 

****

After pulling away, the latter spoke hushed and lowly, “I don't think he's just sick. What if he-”, Jisung quickly looked around the hallway, making sure no passing soul was in hearing distance. “What if he jumped and something happened? What if he's lying somewhere, hurt? God, maybe he landed in a year of war and he died there. Oh my god, Jaemin.” His voice was laced with concern, the last words came out choked. 

****

“Calm down. I'm worried too, but think about for how long Hyuck has been doing this. I'm pretty sure that he's fine, just stuck somewhere. Or he's at home and just too lazy to call.” Jaemin grabbed the younger's wrists and caressed the knuckles, thumb stroking over them gently. 

****

Jisung took a deep breathe, thankful for Jaemin's touch. “Do you think we should go to his apartment after school? We could ask his mom if she knows anything.”

****

“I think that would be the best, Sungie.”, the older answered and send a smile Jisung's way. 

****

“Okay. My class begins soon, should we meet at the gate later?”, the boy asked, turning already to walk to the classroom. 

****

“Sure. But wait-”, Jaemin began, holding the younger back at his arms. When he saw that the hallway was empty of students already, he leaned forward quickly and snuck a kiss to Jisung's cheek. The boy bit his lip to avoid grinning like an idiot, his face flushing slightly. 

****

“I told you not to do that stuff.”, he whined and swung his arms a little. 

****

“You should know by now that I happily ignore that. Now get going.”, the older laughed and lightly shoved Jisung into the direction of his class. When the boy turned his head to peak over his shoulder at his boyfriend a last time, Jaemin whisper-shouted a quick _I love you,_ which Jisung returned quietly. The older couldn't hear it, but he knew it. He just did. Always. 

****

As soon as Jisung disappeared behind the corner, Jaemin's happy facade fell instantly. Brows furrowed and lips pressed tightly together. He had concealed his feelings to make his boyfriend less worried. That was always Jaemin's priority - make Jisung's life as amazing and careless as possible. Most of the times he succeeded, but now that Donghyuck was gone… 

****

What Jisung didn't know was that Jaemin had spent his night worrying about Donghyuck, trying to research anything about time travel that didn't seem like complete fiction at the library late at night. But soon was clear for him that every word he read came from the feather of an author that had a blooming fantasy. 

****

The older was convinced that Donghyuck's mom wouldn't be a help either as she was mostly working to keep her and her son in their apartment. And overall, she had no clue about Donghyuck's powers and his jumping. 

****

Angry about his inability to do anything, Jaemin stomped through the hallway and out the door, then through the school gate. It physically hurt him to miss his education, but his friend was more important. Fifteen minutes later, the boy arrived at the library. He had been away for about four hours now, as he only went home at four a.m. 

****

There was another woman sitting at the counter, drinking her tea bored and wanting to get over with her shift already. She seemed pretty young herself, hair dyed a screaming orange. 

****

“Hello, good morning.”, Jaemin said smiling as he neared the counter.

****

“Hi.”, she replied tiredly. 

****

“I was looking for books about time travel, but a scientific approach not the fictional stuff.” He was hoping that this time he would find something that would bring him forward and closer to Donghyuck. 

****

The woman grabbed a register and after blinking several times to see the words on it properly, she answered “The second aisle on the right, you should find a few books there.”

****

“Thank you.”, Jaemin smiled again and turned on his heel. He didn't have much time, Jisung would be waiting for him later. As Jaemin entered the aisle, he already knew that getting information would be difficult. Most of the book titles container words he didn't even know and even if he already heard them, he didn't know what they meant for the sake for it. 

****

Jaemin opened every book to scan through the contents. In the end, he picked about five books to get a better look at them. After sitting down and reading the first few pages, the boy quickly realized that it would be hard to learn anything from the books. He didn't know most words used to describe the characteristics of time and space and the formulas next to them made his head hurt from only looking at them. 

****

Soon it was almost end of the second period and Jaemin had to be back at school to meet Jisung. He couldn't risk his boyfriend getting suspicious, it would only hurt him to know that the older did all of that behind his back. 

****

On the way out, Jaemin waved the woman behind the counter goodbye, quickly calling a _“i'll be back in a few hours to continue reading the books”_ over his shoulder with a smile which she gave back with a slight nod. The boy trotted back, hands in the pockets of his pants and when he passed one of the many convenience stores, he even halted and bought chocolate milk for Jisung.

****

After hours of exhausting classes and bringing his boyfriend home, Jaemin returned to the library. In an ideal world, he could have spent some time with Jisung, then going home to take  a nap after working on homeworks. But who could speak of an ideal world when a friend was missing. 

****

The same woman as in that morning was still sitting behind the counter, just that she seemed less tired now. Her eyes sent suspicious glances when she spotted the boy. 

****

“Hi, you there! Still researching on time travel?”, she called out, an undertone in her voice that Jaemin couldn’t interpret. 

****

“Hi. Yeah, I still am. It’s a hard topic, so I think it’s gonna take me some time.”, Jaemin answered with a polite smile on his face. 

****

The woman frowned. “Is it like for a school project?”

****

The boy contemplated really hard what to tell her. In his guts, he had the weird feeling that she was interrogating her. However, he brushed it off and blamed it on slight paranoia and overthinking. “Um, not really for school. I just became interested in the topic.” Jaemin sent another smile, hoping that it would help with convince her. 

****

She nodded slowly. “Good luck then with that.”

****

“Thank you.”, Jaemin replied and turned on his heel to return to the aisle he had been in a few hours ago. The books that he left on the table at the side were still there, so he sat down and began there were he stopped before. 

****

_“This is for Hyuck, Jaemin. You’re doing this for Haechannie.”_

****

One hour passed and the boy hadn’t learned anything that could help him to find his friend. It was the most frustrating situation Jaemin has ever been in. The cold fear that something could have happened to Donghyuck sat behind him and blew its freezing breath into Jaemin’s nape. He drove a hand through his hair, messing the strands up. 

 

Another hour passed and Jaemin was close to tears. He felt so useless. The thought of Donghyuck being injured, somewhere, or better, somewhen, tortured his tired mind. 

****

At the same time, the woman behind the counter dialed a number. It rang three time before someone answered. 

****

“Hello?” It was a man’s voice, deep and calming.

****

“Jaehyun?”, the woman asked hushed.

****

“Seulgi? Is that you?”

****

“Yes, I’m sorry that I can’t talk louder. I’m at the library and there’s this boy here, the second time today already. He is researching on time travel and he said that it’s not for school.”

****

“That could be suspicious, yes.”, the man said with a chuckle.

****

Seulgi sighed, “Listen, Jae, I know that it sounds silly but I just _feel_ that there’s more to it, okay? Trust me.”

****

“Alright, I believe you. I’ll come over.”

****

“Thanks, see you later.” The man immediately hung up.  

****

Seulgi got anxious that the boy would randomly decide to leave, she couldn't disappoint Jaehyun. The next twenty minutes, her foot was constantly tapping the cold linoleum floor and she flinched every time she heard a noise, thinking it was him attempting to go home. 

****

The woman nearly screamed as someone laid his hand on her shoulder. 

****

“Shhhh, it's me.”, a deep voice hushed Seulgi, making her turn around. 

****

Exhaling deeply twice she answered, “Jae? God, you scared me to death.”

****

He chuckled and ran his hand up and down her arm gently. “I'm sorry, I used to side entrance.”

****

“It's okay. Now…”, Seulgi paused and nodded her head to the side. “Do you wanna see him?”

****

Jaehyun’s face became serious. “Yes, show me the boy.” Taking her hand, pulled her up lightly. 

****

Their voices became quieter as Seulgi lead the man to where the object of suspicion was located. As soon as Jaehyun saw him, he let go of her hand and approached the boy who had his head hidden between his arms, resting on the surface of the table. 

****

Like with Seulgi earlier, he touched his shoulder first to get his attention. The boy flinched, head jerking up with his eyes opened widely. 

****

“Hi, I'm researching on time travel. Do you still need those books?”, Jaehyun asked nicely and smiled. 

****

“Actually, I do need them. I'm sorry.” He cleared his throat before talking again. “It's urgent so I probably will occupy them for the rest of the Jaemin. 

****

Jaehyun pulled out the chair closest to the boy and sat down. “Would you mind if I sit here and co-use one book while you use the other?”

****

“No, you can do that.” Jaemin rubbed his eyes, trying to push the sleepiness back. 

****

“Thank you. What's your name?”, Jaehyun asked, smile constantly on his face. 

****

“I'm Jaemin.”, he replied and sighed. 

****

“My name is Jaehyun. Are you okay? You seem kind of off.” He tried to catch Jaemin's gaze again. 

****

“I'm just under a lot of pressure right now.”, Jaemin looked up, frowning. 

****

The older nodded. “Then I won't distract you anymore.”

****

Finally, Jaemin showed a little smile too. “Okay, thanks. And here is the book.” Jaehyun took it from the boy's hands. 

****

Hours passed in which Jaemin often sighed, shook his head and was close to giving up, only to remember that Donghyuck might need him. That he was almost sure that his friend needed him. 

****

Jaehyun pretended to read through the pages, feeling bored the whole time. However, he really wanted to try for Seulgi, try to find out for her if there was something to her suspicion. 

****

When Jaemin closed the book aggressively, the man knew it was time to shoot his shot. 

“So…, why time travel?”

****

“Huh?”, brought Jaemin out confused. 

****

“Why are you researching about time travel? Any specific reason?”, Jaehyun questioned again. 

****

Jaemin shook his head, thinking hard what to tell the man. “I’m just interested in it.”

****

“That’s it? Then why is it so urgent?”, he kept asking. 

****

Jaemin felt interrogated again, like with the woman before. Was it so questionable that a teenager read about time travel?

****

“I’m just really curious.”, Jaemin continued lying. If this kept on going, he would have to simulate whatever  to get out of there. Maybe a cough so he would have to go home and take medicine. 

****

But there was so satisfaction in Jaehyun yet. The boy was hiding something, it’s obvious and that was enough motive for the man to keep on. He believed that Seulgi was right and he felt an unexplainable wave of pride. 

****

“What made you so curious about time travel then?” 

****

Jaemin felt so naked in front of Jaehyun’s way too friendly eyes and his constant questions. “I don’t know why, I just am.” The older nodded and said an inaudible _yeah, sure._ Turning his head over, he sent Seulgi a wink. The signal that she was certainly right and that she should call the others.

****

“Do you want the other book now?”, Jaemin attempted to change the topic. 

****

“Huh?” Jaehyun had been in thought about what exactly to do with Jaemin once his colleagues arrived. “Oh, yeah. Sure, thank you. Here.”, he mumbled while handing his book over to the boy. 

****

Over the next ten minutes, the man kept glancing sideways constantly. For unknown reasons, he was extremely nervous about the whole thing. 

****

Suddenly, he heard Seulgi's voice. And another one. One he knew just to well. 

****

They were here now. 

****

They were here for Jaemin. 

****

Because Jaehyun called them. 

****

Hopefully he didn't make a mistake. 

****

“Hello, Jaehyun.” The voice made him flinch, inhaling a suddenly cold wift of air sharply. 

****

“Doyoung. Good to see you.”, Jaehyun spoke, not sounding so sure of himself.

****

The man’s eyes scanned over Jaemin, who was still consumed in the books in front of him. “I assume this is the object of suspicion.”

****

Jaehyun's only response was a slight nod, too distracted in gulping down the bad feeling he had. And right then, as Jaehyun glanced to the side, Jaemin raised his head. Doyoung’s gaze on him wasn’t of friendly nature, and the boy felt like the man could see right through him

****

“You must be our man then.”, Doyoung grinned at the constantly shrinking figure next to his partner. 

****

Jaemin shook his head violently. “You must mistake me. I don’t know you. I’m sorry, but i have to go now.” His words came out stuttered while he struggled to scrape his belongings together. Jaehyun knew what would come next. Doyoung wouldn’t let the boy go. He watched him giving Jaemin a light push as he attempted to get up the chair.

****

“Please, I don’t know what I did but I’m sure we can solve it tomorrow. But for now I have to go.”, he pleaded, situated on his butt uncomfortably.

****

It was Doyoung’s turn to shake his head. “Actually, this matter is a little more…”, he stopped to look at Jaehyun for help. The latter just shrugged his shoulders. 

****

“A little more delicate?”, he suggested with a questioning frown.

****

“Yes, I like that. It’s a delicate matter, needed to be handled with care. You see, boy-”

****

“My name is Jaemin.”, the younger interrupted.

****

The man nodded. “Thanks. You see, Jaemin, it’s gonna need a little more than just a half-assed excuse to solve this.” Turning his head to the other, he whispered, “Jaehyun, don’t you wanna say anything to this?”

****

Said raised his hands. “Nah man, I’m good.” Doyoung rolled his eyes in response and aped the words mockingly. “ _Nah man, I’m good, bla bla. Oh Doyoung, why don’t you do all the work alone.”_

****

Jaemin observed the bickering adults and almost laughed, but he was too scared of Doyoung focusing on him again. 

  


_p.o.v. donghyuck and mark_

****

“You know, maybe you need a new hobby.”, Donghyuck said during bites of chocolate bars he had discovered in Mark’s backpack. “Ever thought about that?”

****

After dancing and singing for about an hour, Donghyuck’s energy and mood had been restored, so the weird urge to get to know Mark better had come back up as well. He didn’t question it though. Learning about someone you spend time with seemed only natural. Logical. Something everybody would do.

****

Glancing down to where the younger was sitting on the floor, Mark replied, “I don’t have time for that, I think.”

****

“Then what about meeting new people? Chances on getting relationships are higher then as well, you know?”, the boy suggested next.

****

The older scoffed, smirking to himself. “Who said I want a relationship?”

****

Donghyuck shrugged. “Doesn’t everybody want that? A sappy love story and the promise of an eternal bond?”

****

“I mean, when you say it like that.”, Mark chuckled.

  


_“That’s right. That’s what you want, Mark. And it’s right there. Just take it.”_

_And with that, more whispers were sent towards the boys._

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it took me a bit longer for this chapter again. I hope you like it, and pls leave me some feedback in the comments :))
> 
> My Twitter is @pastelbluenana


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